


Harry Potter and- Oh God, Not this Guy

by SlytherinLife



Series: Self-Insert Harry Potter [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Dobby tries, Draco Malfoy is a Brat, Gilderoy Lockhart makes Harry Potter uncomfortable, Harry Potter has fun with the diary, Harry still is not swearing, Harry's magic is still weird, Lucius Malfoy is trying, Luna Lovegood is a Good Friend, Mild Gore, Narcissa Black Malfoy is a Good Parent, Reincarnation, Self-Insert, Slytherin Harry Potter, Smart Harry Potter, The SI is Harry Potter, There is a lot of sass, Tom Riddle's Diary, but he is getting better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 16:55:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 64,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21655783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlytherinLife/pseuds/SlytherinLife
Summary: One year down, six more to go. It should be smooth sailing from here on out now that Harry is learning magic! He has a strong circle of friends, a growing influence of those around him, and a basic plan for his life. All Harry has to do is keep his school years normal.Except, he forgot about Lockhart... and the basilisk... and-Oh hey! Luna! Well, the year can't be all that bad... right?
Relationships: Draco Malfoy & Harry Potter, Hermione Granger & Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger & Draco Malfoy & Harry Potter, Hermione Granger & Harry Potter, Luna Lovegood & Harry Potter, too many to list - Relationship
Series: Self-Insert Harry Potter [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1395997
Comments: 322
Kudos: 2240
Collections: Best Fics From Across The Multiverse, FTTN's Favorites, Favorite Self-Insert and OC-Centric Fanfics, Hainako's Collection of amazing fanfiction





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so much for the wait! I'm extremely happy with how this story turned out. This story begins with Sirius' letter in response to Harry's letter in the previous story, feel free to reread that letter if you get confused. I did not expect this series to get the attention it has received and I must thank all of you for your support.
> 
> For anyone new to this story: Welcome! This is part 2 of a series, if you would be so kind as to read part 1 I would greatly appreciate it. It minimizes confusions. :)

_Harry,_

_Yes, the fewer letters sent the better, not only for myself but for your owl. I’m sure they don’t like dealing with dementors._

_You’re a clever boy, but it still does not answer how you knew I was your godfather. But I have this feeling you’ll never spill your secrets so asking would be a waste of parchment. You know, I always thought you’d be like your father, flying on a broom in Quidditch but I guess you’ll turn into your mum with a brilliant mind for knowledge… Once you manage to figure out why you’re bad at charms that is. I’m sure your friends will be able to help you with schoolwork and also keep you out of trouble. Please do not engage against trolls anytime soon or I may just try to find a way to break out of here._

_You-Know-Who is back, even as a parasite he is not dead. Trust Dumbledore to keep you safe but also listen to your gut like you have done this year. Always trust it. Avoid trouble, keep your nose clean but remember to have fun, don’t waste your youth chasing a destiny not yet ready for you._

_Get good at charms. Queen. Red. These are not bad questions but many of them are memories lost to me and I had to sit here for a few minutes to think about them._

_You may hear terrible things as you grow up but never let them get to you. Keep your friends close but be cautious as you never know when one will slither away into the dark, do not repeat the mistakes of us adults._

_Sirius_

Sitting lotus style on my bed I reread the letter, picking apart each word he said. Two things stuck to me and both are connected to the same conclusion.

Sirius doesn’t like that I’m in Slytherin.

He never mentions my house, instead focused on my lack of interest in Quidditch and my poor charms skills. But I also read no malice towards me directly, I felt more pride than anything that I was doing so well in school. 

_Slither away into the dark…_

That had to be a warning about Draco, how his family was and probably still is loyal to Voldemort to a fine stretch of the imagination. Sirius is warning me to not make myself vulnerable around other Slytherins because of who I am.

Appreciated, but not needed.

Going to my trunk I pull out my notebook and opened it for the first time since I finished writing all of my notes. The notes were skeletal summaries of each book, initials for people’s names and key words swapped out for pop culture references. I can afford to forget some details; minuscule ones that are little more than trivia that could get me full points on a Pottermore quiz. But I cannot afford to forget Voldemort’s Horcrux, their locations, and what can destroy them. 

Besides, no one needs to remember when everyone’s birthday is, I can barely remember mine.

Pretty sure it’s next week.

Placing Sirius’ letter at the final page of the Philosopher’s Stone section along with Sirius’ first letter I close the notebook and put it away. With luck, I will only need to look over this book on rare occasions or to add notes. 

“Well then…” I sigh, throwing my arm out to stretch. “Wanna go for another round of training, Sansa? Scabbers?”

Scabbers didn’t respond as usual but Sansa hopped off her perch and went to my falconry glove, nudging it in my direction. Slipping it on and putting the jess on my cooperative feather baby’s leg I took the two of them outside. Petunia was in the kitchen preparing lunch for Dudley and Vernon was at work. No one saw me go out the front door with a very large owl and a rat.

It was mid-July at this point. I usually kept the training to night time so Sansa could use her primal instincts, but something inside me just wanted to show off her beauty in broad daylight. 

The summer wasn’t awful, wasn’t good either. I stuck to my bedroom and only came out when it was needed. There haven’t been any signs of Dobby stealing my letters, I still get several every few days and Sansa is getting plenty of exercise at night as a result. Petunia stopped complaining about me being in the garden when her marigolds began to bloom not long after I began taking full care of them. I think the praises from her neighbors soften the idea of me helping around. 

When we had gotten home, Vernon attempted to lock my trunk away in the cupboard when my wand came out and Sansa went into a threat posture on my stuff. Who would have thought? A child with a stick was more threatening to a whale-like man than a criminal with a knife or gun. He gave up entirely when I tried to say a fake spell when one of my exploding snap cards fell out of one of my trunks pockets and well… exploded. 

After that, I have yet to feel the need to use magic as a threat to anyone. Except this one time, but I needed to teach Dudley a lesson.

Mini-sea cow thought it was a good idea to try and steal my anklet the first week of me being back at their place. A long talk with a fluffed owl on my shoulder and a wand twirling in my hand about how he “shouldn’t take others’ belongings without permission, specifically when it was a special Christmas gift” later and Dudley never bothered trying to nab my jewelry. I still refuse to take it off though and have plans on asking Lucius if we can cast an anti-thievery charm on it. 

Bless Sansa and her intelligent brain to know exactly when to act scary.

But in any case, back to the training!

“Remember Scabbers, if you manage to escape Sansa’s eyes, you win!” I clap my hands sadistically in encouragement to Scabbers. I never train in the same location, sometimes its the park with wide-open land, last week it was the nearby forest. It always ended the same.

Sansa either caught him, or I played dirty and hit him with a stunning spell.

He never seems to learn, always determined to get away the moment I open his cage door. He’s beginning to bite my fingers whenever I handle him now, determined to escape and get away from me. But it won’t work, not yet at least.

Sansa took off into the air and hovered over the property. She was alert when I opened Scabbers' cage and he took off. The owl getting my sense of humor and waited for the human-rat to get a fair distance before swooping in and catching her charge. 

“Good girl, we’ll need to see if you can catch him when not present to his cage opening,” I praised Sansa. Scabbers got returned to his cage with fresh water and some veggies for him, but he seemed to prefer to bury himself in the nest he had made with scraps of cloth. 

“Excuse me, boy!” A woman’s voice called out to me, not condescending or shrewd, but rather one that sounded curious. 

I look over to see our neighbor, the one that is nosy at best and Petunia spies on often, waving at me politely. I pointed to myself to confirm that I was indeed the “boy” she called for.

“Yes, you! Come here please.” 

With an awkward balance, I picked up Scabbers’ cage and walked over to the fence that separated the two yards. Sansa was relaxed on my arm, eyes virtually shut, head tucked into her body and the embodiment of harmless.

“How may I help you, ma’am? My apologies, but I believe we’ve never been introduced. Harry Potter, ma’am,” I say, putting the cage down so I can offer my hand. She takes it while eyeing Sansa suspiciously.

“Harper Poole, Mrs. Poole,” She introduced. “I’ve known you lived here since you were a baby, but you don’t get involved in much. Heard you were disturbed.” She looks at me up and down, from the respectable bird on my arm to the dark green t-shirt and black jeans all neatly resting on my body. “You don’t look disturbed.”

‘I swear Dursleys…’ I fake a laugh. “Oh! I was rather shy around strangers and my teachers were never fond of me as a result. They fed my aunt and uncle a lot of lies. I’ve gotten better at my school.”

“Poor thing… What school do you go to?”

Crap.

“You wouldn’t hear about it, it’s a small private school in Scotland. I was supposed to go to Stonewall High but I had received a letter from the other school. My parents graduated from it and when they heard that I was turning eleven, they sent me a letter offering a scholarship.” I mean, as far as I can tell Hogwarts does not have any tuition whatsoever. “We’re taught math, writing, chemistry and some after school programs as well.”

I could tell she was going to ask about more specifics for the school, like its name so I look at my owl. “This is Sansa.”

The sudden change in subject caught Mrs. Poole off-guard but she looked at Sansa. “She’s lovely, where did you get her?”

“From my school. Besides normal classes, we can take special classes and I took fal… falconry. We are bonded with an owl and when I am older I can get a license to educate the public about other snowy owls like her since we don’t have them in the UK.”

Wow lying to snoopy ladies is really easy. 

“That’s interesting… but do we have to worry about it attacking pets?”

I quickly shake my head which wakes Sansa up, “Oh no, she’s perfectly harmless to pets and I keep her well fed. I’m so grateful my family let me work with her over the summer, my goal is to have her work as a rescue for small animals because of how gentle she is. Would you like to pet her?” Mrs. Poole was hesitant but nodded. “Just stroke her breast like so, she’s friendly.”

I show the neighbor how to pet Sansa, who kept acting like the well-behaved girl that I know she is. I see Petunia walk out the door and storm over to us. Her smile was tight, fake, and she was trying to not explode into my ear about letting my owl out in public, but Mrs. Poole didn’t seem to notice.

“Oh, Petunia! You never told me you had such a charming nephew!”

A weird sound bubbled in my aunt's throat. “A-ah… pardon?”

“Letting your orphaned nephew go to a private school so far from home and allowing him to work with such a beautiful animal? Topped it off with a loving husband and a bright son,” I have a question: Where is this bright son? “You must feel so blessed. I wish my daughter was just as good.”

“I couldn’t have asked for a better aunt! Thank you for letting me go to my parents’ old school, Aunt Petunia!” I chirped in my fake-happy voice that Petunia absolutely loathes. “I need to put Sansa away so she can sleep. It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Poole!” 

I wave to the women and rush to my bedroom with Sansa and Scabbers. Sansa wasted no time in resting on her perch while Scabbers took this time to munch on broccoli. 

It wasn’t until an hour later did Petunia barged into my room. She does this often so I never let my room be messy. My trunk remained neatly organized in the corner of my room, I always kept a shirt and trousers on despite the heat begging me to go shirtless and rarely did I take out my school stuff unless I knew no one would bother me. This time around, Petunia barged in to find me laying on my bed, one leg over the other, with my nose in Dudley’s abandoned _Old Yeller_ novel. 

I briefly lick my pointer finger to assist in the turning of my book’s page. “I did not mention my school, magic, and I did not say anything bad about you or the others. Please do not yell at me for something I am not guilty of,” I said, ignoring the sharp sound of Petunia’s teeth clenching.

“You should not have that bird out in public in the first place!”

“As far as your neighbors are concerned,” Another page turned. “I am going to a special school for my social anxiety and is working with a rare bird. You and Uncle Vernon are loving guardians caring for their nephew and Dudley is considered smart. Everyone wins.”

Petunia gasps.

“How dare you imply my Diddlekins is not smart?!”

I mean… I am the one reading a classic while he’s downstairs eating chocolate cake.

“Your words not mine, Aunt Petunia. What kind of books is he reading?” I finally look away from my book to watch her face change colors. “I would love suggestions, I’ve read all of the ones in here and I finished my homework a week ago.” And Vernon doesn’t like that I tried to spend all my days at the library.

“Y-You…” Petunia sputtered, lost for words.

“Aunt Petunia,” I start, sitting up so I can look at her properly. “I know you don’t like having me around, but you and Uncle Vernon are limiting my options. I keep running out of chores to do, you won't let me go to the library, or to London to visit Hermione. My homework is done unlike Dudley and I’ve read all of my books. I need to go get my next year’s supply soon but, as I said, neither of you will let me go to London.”

“Why should we take you anywhere for that freak school?” Petunia spats, her skinny neck so tense I could see the veins in her neck start to become visible.

Someday, I’m going to visit them when the Horcrux in me is destroyed just to see what changes about them. Are they naturally nasty people or is it because of me?

“Because then you can get rid of me sooner for another school year. Do you hate seeing me happy that much?” Petunia said nothing. She just gaped at me, wide eyed and silent, like she didn't know how to respond. I kicked off the bed and chucked the book over my shoulder, causing it to bounce off the wall and onto my pillow. “That’s it!”

“Wh-what are you doing?” She backed away while I stormed over to my desk.

Reaching for my trunk and whipping out some parchment and my quill which I filled with ink. I write a rather frantic, messy letter and shoved it in an envelope. I didn’t look at my aunt while I tied the letter to Sansa’s leg, who woke up from her rest and took off once she confirmed the letter wouldn’t fall.

“Seeing if we can both rid myself from this house for the rest of the summer. It's obvious you'd prefer it if I wasn't here anyway, so I might as well be out of your hair.”

Petunia frowned at that, for a brief moment I saw guilt flash across her eyes that shut themselves down. 

I grab my hair, which was now halfway down my neck at this point and put it in a pathetically short ponytail to keep it from sticking to my skin. My bangs needed taming, but I just blew air from my mouth at it. 

“I’m barely passing one of my classes,” The room became still. “I can’t participate in their sports because I’m afraid of it. I fall asleep in history class. My first night at the school I had juice go up to my nose because my body went into shock from how sweet it was. I went to the nurses several times for injuries, one of them was a concussion… and my favorite spot in my school is the library…”

I look to my aunt, “Doesn’t that sound like a normal school? I’m in a safe environment where I can make friends and learn and have a future. I want to become a teacher, Aunt Petunia, or a law enforcer,” I said and my lips pinched together. I went to my trunk and pulled out the photobook, hugging it. “What did I do to make you both hate me this much? I’ve asked this question every day for years.”

The door to my bedroom closed, and when I look, Petunia had left.

I stare out into the summer afternoon sky, my brain finally collecting my thoughts and replaying what I wrote in that later.

_Draco, what are the chances I could spend the summer with you and your family?_

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

To say things were tense between Petunia and I that next week was an understatement. Sansa wasn’t back, which made me nervous and when I’m nervous my vegetable choppings became loud and borderline hand-cutting. So while we were preparing for Vernon’s potential business partners I was given a wide berth while I viciously made a Mediterranean salad with the intensity of Edward Scissorhands making an ice sculpture.

Vernon rehearsed everything with his family while I contemplated sneaking out and trying to find ghost peppers to sneak into the salad. Would that be mean of me? I could buy a fresh gallon of milk in case the guests have a bad reaction to the peppers… now I’m hungry. Would I get away with sneaking some salad upstairs? I did make it after all-

“_BOY_!”

I let out a yelp, clutching my chest and look at my uncle with wide eyes. “I’m going to be in my bloody room with my bloody rat and quietly read a bloody book.”

“Don’t use that tone with me, but you are correct in what you shall be doing this evening. And cut your hair!”

I’ll cut my hair when your body stops looking like Jabba The Hutt's grandmother.

I wisely bit my tongue and headed up to my room where I saw someone I was both expecting and… not… really expecting?

“Dobby?”

The little house-elf was standing in the middle of my, now clean, bedroom. My trunk rested beside him, Scabbers’ cage on top of it and Sansa waiting on her perch, happily screeching upon my arrival.

“Harry Potter! It is an honor to see you again, sir!” Dobby squeaked out, bowing so low his ears flopped onto the ground ungracefully. I can hear the Dursleys buttering up to their house guests.

“Wha-?” I jerk my head in each and every direction to examine my room. Not only did Dobby seemed to have made himself busy, but everything was packed in my trunk. “Don’t take offense to my question, but why are you here and why is my trunk packed?”

Dobby let out a soft chuckle that was a mixture of amusement and nervousness. “Dobby does apologize, Dobby’s family gave the order to not disturb them when on vacation. When they returned this morning, Harry Potter’s owl was waiting for them. Dobby made sure she was fed and taken care of during the week. Dobby was tasked with packing Harry Potter’s possessions so he may spend the summer at the Malfoy Manor! Mrs. Malfoy will arrive soon to collect Harry Potter!”

That’s… oddly refreshing. No warning to not go to Hogwarts, that I’m in danger, it’s nice- wait a minute. I'd bet my vault that he's not telling me because I know he’s the Malfoy’s house-elf. 

I hold back my urge to sharply inhale and motion to my bed with a polite smile, “Please have a seat.” Bad move. The waterworks instantly trickled down as Dobby wailed. “Shhhh, sh sh, what’s wrong?”

“D-Dobby heard that Harry Potter was good and kind, but never would Dobby expect to be told to sit down by a wizard l-like an _equal_!”

“Um…” I blinked. “Did you think I told you to take a break during Christmas only to mess with Draco? You do so much so you deserve to be nice to yourself- don’t hit yourself.” I quickly swiped my lamp from his grasp, scolding him like a child. “Come on, sit down, I don’t mind.”

“D-Dobby must return back home with Harry Potter’s things,” Dobby hiccuped, wiping a tear. “B-but Harry Potter’s offer was most generous.”

“I-” I pause when I hear the doorbell ring for a second time. “That must be them… Dobby, take a rest when you return home, okay? If they call for you that’s fine, but take a breather when you are not tasked with something. Consider that an order from me if you must view it as such.”

Dobby stared up at me with large, glassy eyes that oozed admiration. I found myself awkwardly shifting at such an expression, one of awe and… oh, sweet Glinda, I swear Dobby had a determined glow to his face now. 

Hello, brick walls and bludgers…

Dobby didn’t say anything, snapping his fingers and all of my stuff -animals included- vanished with a crack. 

_Thump… thump… thump_

My blood went cold as I hear Vernon walk towards the front door. If he was the one to greet the door then no doubt he’ll explode at the sight of Narcissa! 

“I’ll get the door!” I made a sharp 180 to run out only to hit my bedroom door face first. Rapidly patting my door until I found the knob and threw it open, rushing down the stairs and barely reaching the front door just as Vernon was going to reach for it. 

Vernon gave me a look that could murder before breaking into a fake smile when his guests poked their heads into the hallway to see who the new voice was. “Oh, don’t mind my nephew, he’s a disturbed boy who gets nervous when the doorbell rings-”

Vernon’s voice died out when I opened the door. Standing there was Narcissa, stunning as always, dressed like she was to dine at one of England’s finest restaurants -oddly the dress was muggle with a long black overcoat- and a stern expression on her face while she stared daggers into my uncle. Behind her, in a finely tailored dress robe, is Draco with a sneer seemingly glued on his face.

“Harry,” Narcissa spoke, placing a perfectly manicured hand to my cheek, lifting my face up so she could kiss my forehead. My eyes remained open the entire time, so I watched as her loving eyes turned into hellfire when she saw my family. “I’m so sorry we were late to collect you. I have spoken with our… servant, that your letters override his orders not to disturb us.” 

“Mrs. Dursley, who are those people?” Mrs. Manson asked, obviously not expecting people who look like the embodiment of nobility at the doorstep.

“Mum, can we take Harry home now? I feel sick looking at these mu-” Draco pauses when I frowned at him. “I don’t like them.”

“Of course, my love,” Narcissa responded, the hand on my cheek trailed down to my shoulder, and I was pulled into her arms and guided to stand behind her. “So sorry to interrupt your…” She tilted her head, nose up and looking down at my uncle’s suit. “Ah, dinner party. We received a letter from Harry requesting he stayed with us for the rest of the summer so they may return to their _illustrious private school_ in September.” 

“You- you…” Petunia gaped. I swear I could see her self-esteem drop as the mental comparison to her floral mess of a dress to Narcissa’s black tie formal attire. “We did not give you permission to take our… darling nephew.” Her voice became unnaturally sweet due to the important guests they had in the house. “If you take him we will call the authorities for kidnapping.”

I exchange glances with Draco, who’s about to damage his eyes with the level of rolling they’re doing. Narcissa’s polite smile never left her face.

“There is no need for them. Unless we wish to get my husband involved, he is a member of the government.” And then there was silence. Petunia knew what that meant, Vernon could take a guess, and I had a full toothy grin. “Harry, please do not smile like that, it is unsightly and you will get wrinkles.”

_And_ the grin is gone. 

Petunia huffed but relented, retreating to the kitchen to make something and Vernon closed the door when the three of us were far enough away for it to be socially acceptable. 

Narcissa kept her expression schooled while she escorted us both away from the house. “I already sent a letter to the ministry about our house elf being in your house. Now, we will be using a portkey so hang onto my arm and do not let go as you touched the object.”

I grimaced but obeyed, Draco already linked his arm with his mother. Narcissa pulled out a handkerchief that was in a small purse and we all touched the item at the same time. A sharp pull came from my naval and within seconds we were at the Malfoy Manor.

Narcissa kept a firm hold on the both of us, a motherly determination to keep us on our feet. Thank Merlin she held onto us as both of our knees buckled from the transport.

“That was… not fun…” I gasped out, only letting go of Narcissa when I finally had control of my jelly legs. Draco shortly followed suit, straightening himself up.

Narcissa gave us both a warm smile then head inside. In the distance, I saw their resident peacocks strutting around their yard and despite the gloomy sky, I finally breathed. I finally felt welcomed since summer started.

Draco draped his arm over my shoulder with his usual smug grin, no malice, just a default face he makes. “Welcome home, Harry.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summer shenanigans and Diagon Alley adventures.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I say weekly updates? I specifically meant weekly updates every Saturday. :) 
> 
> I'll be consistently updating every Saturday unless something happens and I can't post that week (I doubt this will happen). Hopefully everyone will be happy with the schedule.

It took a good hour to be settled in the manor as we not only had to make sure my room was up to standards -theirs, not mine- we then had to wait for Lucius to return home so I could get the rundown on house rules.

Bed for Draco and I was 10 o’clock. If we leave the manor, we must be inside by 7 o’clock for supper. Call Dobby for anything we need and then the rule that caught my interest.

“I am… sorting through some magical objects, so I am requiring both of you to refrain from touching or asking about anything that looks unusual or out of place,” Lucius said while he talked to us. Draco nodded but was more interested in paying attention to me. I, on the other hand, took everything he said to heart. Lucius is only cleaning out his stuff because Aurors are inspecting him, and frankly, I’m not stupid. No way in hell would I touch half of the stuff in this house anyway.

I feel weird sitting on the lounge chair!

“Yes, Mr. Malfoy. Thank you for letting me stay here.” I dipped my head politely, making Draco scoff at my manners but it was enough to please Lucius.

“It is a pleasure to have you in our house. Not to mention it stops Draco from his excessive complaining about wanting to see you.” Lucius gave his son a pointed look and the color change on Draco’s face was very noticeable.

“Aw, you missed me!” I threw my arms around Draco in a mock hug while the other went full ferret in trying to get away from my grip.

“Yeah, well, I just didn’t like the muggles you live with. Come on, we should pick our outfits for tomorrow.”

I blinked, “Um… Draco? What are we doing tomorrow?” My blood ran cold at the grin on Draco’s face.

“Pansy is coming over tomorrow, we still need to teach you how to dance and proper wizarding etiquette.”

Morgana help me.

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

Turns out dancing wasn’t too bad. Pansy was very clear that we would be dancing step-by-step until I could confidently dance without looking at my feet. I was never that bad at dancing, simple steps and freestyle were easy for me and I discovered that I was a quick learner.

The music became more ballroom-like and while I kept looking down to make sure I wasn’t stepping on Pansy’s feet, she encouraged me to just give it a shot and not look down. I did and in the last moments of the dancing, I finally man up and took control of the steps, ending it with twirling the girl and dipping her with relative ease.

Draco hummed approvingly, sauntering over to examine the dip. “I’m surprised you knew how to do that, Harry. Well, snack time!” 

After steadying Pansy back onto her feet we gather in the lounge area to eat snacks. Well, I would say enjoy until Pansy smacked my hand when I went to pick up my cup. “Ow, what was that for?”

“You were going to pick up the cup wrong, Harry. Do it like this.” She demonstrates the “right” way by picking up the saucer and then picking up the cup.

I was going to do that!

I held my tongue and just did what she was expecting me to do. Both taking the snack time to teach me table manners, many of which I already knew but was humoring them anyway. Sort of.

_Clink_...

"No, Harry you're being to noisy, do it like this." Pansy put her pinky at the edge of her cup and set it back into her saucer.

_Clink_...

"I just did that! You made the exact sound!" I protested, mimicking her movements perfectly but apparently I am lacking the needed grace and must be making half a decibel more noise than them. Fine, the next time either one of them so much as makes so much as a sound with their goblets at Hogwarts, I'm calling them out on it.

Pansy had to return home an hour later as Hogwarts letters were finally coming in and had to read hers at home. I'm still mad about the noise thing.

"You'll learn in no time," Draco reassured me as we head into his room. "You just need practice."

"Practice my unicorn butt... Stupid rules and regulations, not like I'm meeting the Queen of England." I grumbled and accepted the Hogwarts letter from Sansa.

Draco and I plopped onto his bed and tore open our letters, reading the supply list. Besides, the next level charms book the rest were… Gilderoy Lockhart's books. _Oh goodie._

“Who’s Gilderoy Lockhart?” I asked, dreading whatever Draco may say as a response.

“Some author that’s popular with witches, Pansey's mum likes him for whatever reason. Mother thinks he’s full of himself and refuses to be interested in his books, my father agrees with her.” Oh, thank Merlin. “She is not going to be pleased knowing we’ll have to buy these books.”

“Yeah… I can’t get them used if he’s that popular,” I grumbled, hating that I’m going to have to spend a ridiculous amount of money on these books. 

“Why would you buy used books?”

“If a Ravenclaw last had the book they tend to leave helpful hints and notes behind.”

There was silence and then-

“That’s how you keep finishing your homework before me?!”

I laughed.

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

  
Draco insisted I wear my robe to Diagon Alley while we shopped for supplies. Narcissa had been sweet enough to get my money pre-withdrawn from the bank when I lent her my key and a handwritten note giving her permission. She didn’t even question that I requested more money than I would need for normal supplies. While I was in the middle of fastening the buttons of my robe, I feel hands in my hair.

“Draco? What are you doing?”

“Taming this thing,” He responded, practically stabbing my head with a brush. “Mother charmed this brush to straighten hair and not break when caught. If I’m going to walk around with you I want you to look your best.”

“I thought I always looked my best?”

I didn’t get a response from that, just a nasty yank from the back of my head. With a sigh, I kept on straightening my clothes and even managing to put on my socks with minimal struggle. Draco seemed to enjoy himself working through my hair, working on my bangs and styling the now straight hair so that I “didn’t look like a muggle band leader” whatever that meant. I didn’t even know he knew any muggle bands.

“Okay, look in the mirror,” Draco said, pushing me in front of the mirror in my room and my mouth dropped open. “You can keep the brush if you like how your hair looks; mother thought you’d like it as a birthday present.”

“Remind me to thank her…” I whispered, running a hand through my now straight hair. It wasn’t straight completely, the waves still came through but now I could see the full length of my hair. Not cutting it for a year has made it go from my ears to just about to touch my shoulders, no doubt I’ll be able to start wearing it up by 3rd year at this rate. Thankfully it doesn’t look like the monstrosity of hair that was seen in Goblet of Fire, instead, it was… nice. I always preferred to have my hair straight but Petunia never let me get anywhere near her straightener except for this one Christmas where she had to make me look "presentable" for the neighbors.

So now, I just admired my hair and fixed up my bangs.

That was until I saw Draco’s hand come towards my hair with a glob of something of unholy shininess in his palm.

My arm shot out to smack his hand away, the glob hits the wall with a squelching noise then slowly roll down until it plopped onto the ground. Ugh, sorry, Dobby. I turn to Draco, who flinches back in surprise, “What the bloody hell were you planning on putting in my hair?”

“Uh… I was just going to slick it back.” Draco waved his clean hand over his own head to demonstrate how it would end up looking. “I wanted to see what it would look like.”

“I’d really rather not have that in my hair, thank you.” I rolled my eyes as Draco went to wash his hand, the glob already gone from the ground. When he returned we threw on our Hogwarts cloaks with the snake emblems on them, headed downstairs to where Lucius was waiting for us. He then shoved a small chest into Draco’s hands

“Now,” Lucius spoke sternly at his son. “We have an errand to run. Harry, you are to be with Draco at all times, understood? And Draco… do not touch anything.”

“Yes, sir/Father.” We spoke in broken unison.

We used floo powder to travel to a building in Knockturn Alley. The people in the building looked at the three of us with strong interest, particularly Draco and I which was extremely creepy. Lucius paid no mind to them, waving his cane slightly and the three of us were free of ash and soot at an instant. We followed the taller man with different reactions to our surroundings; Draco eyeing all of the shops like a pampered heiress window shopping but has no interest, while I latched onto his free arm and made sure my scar was covered. Draco liked to remind his father that he was to get a racing broom before we return.

“Remember, Draco, I’m Axel Lea right now.” I reminded him.

“That is still a stupid name, you know.”

“Shut up, I panicked that time. Just refer to me as such!”

“Whatever you say, Lea.”

We entered Borgin and Burkes and I oddly felt relaxed in the creepy shop. Eerie masks and human bones displayed in cabinets would have made anyone else’s blood chill but I take a fancy to the gothic and unusual displays. While Draco was examining some dog skull I noticed something behind the counter, in a glass case. It was a Raggedy Ann in a light floral dress and white apron. The doll’s arm twitched, then stilled as if it realized I was staring right at it…

Wait… isn’t that-?

Borgin finally noticed me after Lucius refused to sell an item, tucked away into his robes so I couldn’t see what it was. The man leered and grinned to reveal ugly, yellow teeth. “Who is this young man?”

“Someone who will not be doing business here anytime soon, less he faces the wrath of my wife,” The snap that barely reached the tip of Lucius’ tongue was enough to make the older man flinch away. “Come along boys, we are finished with business here.” 

“Yes father, when are we getting my racing broom? I can’t get on the Quidditch team without a good one- why are you clinging to me Ha- Lea?” Draco stopped his whining long enough to question me, barely catching himself from using my real name when some ratty-looking witches were grinning at us.

"Why does everyone in this place look like they want to sell our kidneys?" I whisper-hissed at Draco, refusing to let go of his arm.

"Sell our ki- what? What gave you that idea? Why would someone sell a kidney?" Draco raised a brow.

"Humans only need one kidney to live, and they're worth a lot of money in the muggle world. I've heard a lot of stories were people will take someone's kidney and sell it on the black market." I never figured out how truthful that actually was, but considering the mass kidnappings that happen around the world, I would not be surprised if even a fraction of those people had missing organs in the end.

Draco looks back at the witches with a thoughtful look.

I began to drag him out of Knockturn Alley with Lucius giving me directions. I’m assuming, based on the high number of squealing females, that we are nearby Flourish and Blotts. Releasing Draco, I craned my neck out in hopes of finding anyone familiar… which I do very quickly. Someone familiar and, thankfully, with more hygiene practice than whatever was going on back there.

“HERMIONE!” I screamed happily, going into a full-on football run towards the girl. She lets out a squeak when I pull her into a hug and spin her around like a princess, though she goes limp in my arms when she realises the crazy person holding her is just me.

“Hi, Harry! How has your summer been?” Hermione asks, giggling with embarrassment when I start acting like a love-starved cat. “Hi, Draco.”

“Awful, but it’s gotten better when Draco’s family allowed me to stay at their manor.” 

Hermione gave a sympathetic nod then pointed at a sweet looking couple watching us with amusement. “Mum, Dad, meet my friends from school!”

The couple approached us and the woman spoke, “I’m guessing the gentleman hugging our daughter is Harry Potter, right? I’m Jean Granger, Hermione’s mum.”

“John Granger,” Her husband replied. His aura was pleasant, but his eyes promised a knife in our future if we hurt his daughter.

I need to learn that look.

I released Hermione and gave John a firm handshake, earning a nod of approval while kissing Mrs. Granger’s hand.

“Oh my, he is a charmer.” Mrs. Granger chuckled while her husband’s eye twitched. She eyed Draco and gave him a warm smile, “And you must be Draco Malfoy.”

Draco puffed his chest like a proud peacock, “Yes, that I am. Hello.” He nodded his head at them but made no move to shake Mr. Granger’s hand.

I let out a nervous chuckle at Draco’s tenseness, “Hey, let’s go get our b-OOKS! _Guys_!”

“_Hi Harry, fancy seeing you again,_” Fred and George spoke in unison after yanking me to their side. Their grins were contagious and soon I was bumping shoulders with them and… whatever is considered normal guy greetings. I honestly prefer hugs but if they want to act like pool noodles that’s fine by me.

“Everyone else is inside,” Fred started.

“Waiting to get signing from Lockhart,” George continued.

“Bit of a phony if you ask me, brother.”

“Agreed brother, not to mention the school wants us to buy all of his books.”

“You two,” Hermione scolded with hands on her hips and a frown on her face. “Honestly, Lockhart has done amazing things and he’s a splendid author. He’s a talented wizard who was sorted into Ravenclaw, he’s brilliant and…” Oh no, I did not just hear a dreamy sigh out of my precious Hermione!

“Hermione, if he really cared about his readers he would have made his books affordable to students,” I responded with a roll of my eyes. “Let’s just… go inside I guess.”

We entered the shop where Molly and Auther were there waiting for us. Molly approached me and gently put her hands on my face, looking me over and just being… well… a doting mother.

It felt… nice.

“Have you not been eating enough dear?”

“While at the Malfoys I have…” Do not look at Draco, do not look at Draco. The look Mrs. Weasley has is bad enough.

“I see. So what Narcissa said in her letter was true… my _goodness_, you are thin,” Mrs. Weasley tutted in disappointment, patting my torso where my ribs are. “Awful muggles, just awful. Don’t you worry, Harry. Narcissa and I will make sure that you’ll be in a new home, I swear that on my magic. We would try to get out of there before the next summer but Dumbledore is just being a stubborn old-”

“You’re trying to get me out of the Dursleys…?”

“You’ve been sending letters to my mother?” Interesting priorities, Draco.

“Yes to both. It’s painful trying to get both of our husbands to work together but we are trying. Remember our home is open if you ever need it, just write to us.” Molly gave me the definition of a loving smile while touching my hair. “So soft, I need to get the boys' hair like this. Now, come on everyone, let’s go get the books.”

Draco retreated to the upper-level part of the store to get our charms books, reluctantly agreeing to look for a decent second-hand copy for myself. I stuck with the Weasley family and Hermione to get Lockhart’s books. A photographer from the Daily Prophet squeezed his way through the crowd to get a photo of the golden-haired man when Lockhart stopped smiling and stared into the crowd… specifically me.

Mrs. Weasley accidentally moved my bangs, didn’t she?

“Harry Potter…”

Need to run. Need to run _NEED TO RUN_\- too late.

The photographer grabbed the front of my robes and began to shove me towards Lockhart who kept me in a side-arm vice grip. My whole body tensed up and a chill went up my spine. Lockhart doesn’t give off any… any wrong vibes in the slightest, I’m perfectly fine and safe.

_But this thing is touching me…_

“Nice big smile Harry, this will get you and me on the front page,” Lockhart spoke so fast that I only had a moment to give a pleading expression to the camera before the blinding light made me see black dots instead of Mrs. Weasley.

“When young Harry Potter… came into Flourish and Blotts today to order my biography _Mystical Magical Me_-” Hermione, why are you clapping? Ron, please get your mum to stop with the proud mum look- thank you. Please look concerned, I need an adult. Where is Lucius? Draco summon your father with your battle cry, I need help. Someone break Sirius out of Azkaban or get me Sansa! Can someone get this man off my arm- wait what was he talking about?

“He had no idea… that he would be leaving with my… _entire_ collected works…” Oh god, these books are heavy! “Free of charge.”

I’ll pay you the same amount these are worth to hit you on the head with them. Double even.

“And he’ll have much use for these books, as I will be the one to help him- and all of the students of Hogwarts utilize them, as their next Defence Against the Dark Arts professor!” 

Lockhart shoved me once the camera took another photo and I retreated in the closest place of safety, which was Ron. When did I start to see Ron as a person of safety?

“Oh Harry, dear, are you alright? Ron just mentioned to me that you hate being near strangers. Oh if I had known I would have fixed your bangs right away. I’m so sorry, dearie,” Molly apologized profusely, patting my cheeks and examining me over for the bruises that didn’t exist.

“It’s okay, Mrs. Weasley. I’m not hurt…” I glare at the books in my arms. “Ron can have the set.” Both Ron and his mum gave me concerned looks as if what I said was a joke. But I instead plopped the stack into Mrs. Weasley’s arms, fixed my bangs and went to a store employee to get two sets of the books needed for Hogwarts.

Draco rushed down the stairs, his mouth was smirking but his eyes were screaming with rage. “Gonna make the front page, I see? Can’t even walk into a bookstore without your fame following you.” He was joking, playing more off as a jerk to the public but I had to flash a quick smile so the murder would stop being in his eyes. Seriously, it’s creepy to look at. I'm supposed to be the one with that look, not him.

“I thought you were his friend, leave him alone,” Ginny said, trying to… uh… defend my honor? Cute?

“He’s just joking, Ginny. If anything, he’s worried about me because… that really didn’t make me comfortable.” I give Ginny a disarming smile. She blushes and hides behind Ron, who kept giving Lockhart the stink eye.

Lucius’ cane came out of nowhere to land on Draco’s shoulder making a snort clog itself in my throat. 

“Play nice, Draco. The public always watches,” Lucius cautioned. He looks at the Weasley family with a bored expression. “Ah, Arthur's children. It seems not much has changed, I see. Still buying tattered second-hand books.”

Ron’s face turned sour when Lucius picked up Ginny’s book to examine it. Seriously Mrs. Weasley? Why are you letting your kids grab the first copy they find? 

Lucius plopped the one book -now two, sneaky- back into Ginny’s cauldron then looked at Draco. “Draco, your new racing broom is being delivered. Why are you carrying that book?” He motioned to my copy.

“I like second-hand, Mr. Malfoy,” I answered. “A lot of students leave their notes behind on the books and the store owner never erases them, so I use them to help study and not waste the professors’ time with questions.”

“Ah, I see,” Lucius made a non-committal hum. Though, I saw Hermione almost glowing with ideas that made Draco scoot away from her. “In that case, I have some business to attend to in the ministry. I expect to find the both of you at Madam Malkin’s within the next two hours. I have already given the order for you both to receive three new robes and dress robes for December. You two will be at the shop on time for your fitting. Harry, do put your money away.”

“Mr. Malfoy, that wasn’t needed-” I winced when Draco materialized by my side and roughly elbowed my gut, forcing me to put my money away. Lucius gave the Weasley children and Mr. Weasley- wait when did he show up?- his smug smirk and waltzed away out of the bookstore.

“I bet he did that to make fun of us…” Ron grumbled.

Draco gave me an uncomfortable look and I gave him the money to pay for my books. He retreated into the crowd without hesitation.

“I really wished he wouldn’t do that…” I sigh, suddenly giving Ginny a toothy smile. “You’re still picking out books right?” I waited for the younger girl to bashfully nod. “How about I help you find what you need? Show you which ones have the best notes.”

Ginny let out a little squeak and looked at her brother. Ron nodded, giving me an expression that warned pain if I hurt his sister but his eyes were trusting. I took the girl up the stairs and started pulling out some first-year books and pointing out the notes within them. Can’t read the notes? Back on the shelf. Tips and tricks for potions? Keep. Within minutes, Ginny had her arms full of decent quality second-hand books and Hermione was feverishly looking through her own stack to find good copies.

“Thanks for- um… helping me, Harry…” Ginny said softly, tucked a strand of hair behind her reddening ears. I resisted the urge to pat her head. When I was a girl I hated it when taller guys did that so no doubt she wouldn’t like it either considering her string beans of brothers.

“It was my pleasure to help. Oh! Wait right here!” Ginny froze on the spot while I rushed to a different part of the store. Clicking my tongue under my breath while I looked through the shelves, I grabbed the book I was looking for and returned to Ginny. “Here we are.”

Ginny cautiously took the book, careful to not touch my hands for some reason and read the title, “_Beginner’s Guide to Hexes and Jinxes_? What…?”

“You have older brothers and no sisters right? Need to teach them not to mess with you now that you’re going to be a trained witch.” I said, giving her a teasing wink. Reaching into my pocket I also gave her the amount needed to buy the book. “Consider this a ‘Welcome to Hogwarts’ gift.”

“I couldn’t! N-not that I don’t appreciate it… I uh…”

“Ginny…” I drop my voice to a whisper so Hermione doesn’t hear, “I want to see what kinds of things you end up doing as time goes on. I want to see you build confidence. One day you may encounter someone who will need you to be there for them… and I think a few spells in that book may give you that inspiration. I recommend the bat-bogey hex myself.”

Patting her shoulder in parting I walked away from the girl to go find Draco, but not before catching Hermione’s eyes and we both shared a look that trailed back to Ginny. I mouth something that made Hermione’s eyebrow raise.

_Black book._

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

While Draco was off doing… I dunno, Malfoy things, I went around Diagon Alley in search of some desired items without supervision. So far, the last three stores either didn’t have what I was looking for or gave me suspicious looks. With the Slytherin badge, the lack of Draco and my bangs covering my forehead, no wonder they find me suspicious… that or they’re all gits.

At some point, I found myself in this tiny shop out of the main way of the alley, with only a few elderly wizards and witches shopping. I stuck out like a sore thumb in this yellow-glow store.

“Well, it’s not every day I get a Hogwarts student in my little shop.” An old man leaned against the till counter with a friendly smile and a small wave. He was in plain grey robes, a greying beard that was cleanly maintained. The only noticeable part of his body is a bright pink feather in his grey wizard hat and what looked like a ruby wedding band on his left ring finger. “You must be looking for something important to find this humble establishment before the age of fifty. Young folk pay no mind to stores with no trinkets or bright colors, I'm afraid.”

My mouth went dry, “Uh… what is this shop exactly?”

“No name; could never think of a clever pun, shame really,” The old man says with a sigh.

“Oh um… if it’s at all possible… do you have bags with the undetectable extension charms for sale?”

A pause. Here we go-

“I believe I may have a few. The ministry only allows shops to sell about five of them every couple of years. I would just need your signature as proof that it was legally sold and you’ll need to keep a certificate until you are of age.”

-again?

I stood there bewildered while the old man pulled out a plain sack. It was beige and barely big enough to carry a large wallet, let alone any of my books. Never once looking away from me, the old man pulled out a book that was twice the width of the bag and easily tucked it in. The small bag never once losing its slack form and still looked just as empty. He put several more large items in the bag and once he was satisfied that I have been convinced, he emptied the bag.

“I can modify it to fit your style once I get a signature and payment. They’re hard to come by, but you seem like a good kid, so it’ll be fifteen galleons,” The old man said with a patient grin, motioning to a parchment where two more signatures were already written down. He plucked out the quill from his hat and held it out to me.

I fished the coins from my money pouch and took the quill. The feather was bright pink- flamingo? Huh, quirky. Being as honest as I could possibly be, I wrote down my name in sharp, copperplate cursive. Midway through my last name I “accidentally” brush my bangs from my eyes, revealing my scar.

The old man's eyes became a sad glow, but his smile remained kind. “I see… I suppose you have a great reason for wanting this kind of spell on a bag. May I wish you good luck on what your goal may be.” He suddenly clapped his hands and pulled out a mahogany wand with a slight bend at the handle. “Now, enough of the emotions. Color and shape son? I can do as simple or as fancy as you wish. Had a man come in once and ask for it to be in the shape of some muggle cartoon mouse for his trip to America.”

I left the shop with a small, green, leather cross-body bag and a massive grin on my face. It rested comfortably against my hip as I looked for my Slytherin companion.

Draco’s face pinched up with bafflement when he spotted my new accessory. “What exactly are you doing carrying a woman’s handbag?”

“Oh, it’s a surprise,” I said with a wink, stepping onto Madam Malkin’s stands to be refitted for some new robes. “Let’s just say I have something in mind to put our new professor in his place- ow!”

“...” Draco’s eyes slowly blinked as he regarded me. “How can I help?”

“Oh? Is the heir to the Malfoy name starting to be influenced by the Weasley twins?”

“As if. I just don’t like that guy, pompous arse- ow!” Draco yelped from being poked while Madam Malkin measured him. “Ugh… anyway, what can I do to help?”

“Could you…” I licked my lips in thought, eyes lighting up with hope. “Possibly help me get one of your peacock’s tail feathers?”

“... Is that it?”

“Yes?”

“Easy, I can order Dobby to save a few once they start to molt. They should start just before summer is over.” Draco nodded to himself, throwing his arms to remove himself of the magicked robes. “First class of the term?”

“Naturally.”

Draco snorted. He took ahold of his new robes and admired his dress robes. I still do not understand why they are called robes. Draco’s holding a suit! The only robe-like garment is the coat, which had sleeves that were loose like robes and the coattail gave the impression it would billow out in the wind. 

My dress robes were a plain black set, not that I minded too much as anything else would look tacky with this tiny body. 

The head of the Malfoy family arrived right on the dot and motioned for us to follow. He took us to the same building we had originally arrived in. The same people giving us the same looks still loomed within the building. My hand gripped something of similar size, and it squeezed back while tugging me over to Draco- oh Merlin, I’m holding his hand.

“We’re fine. My father won’t let them near us.”

He was right. Lucius ushered both of us into the network first and he followed behind shortly after. I thanked Narcissa for the wonderful birthday present and we ate dinner in peace. By the time I had bathed and dressed it was time to retire for the night.

My bedroom door opened with creaks I didn’t know could come from such fancy doors. Draco’s unslicked, freshly washed head poked inside. “Mind if I bunk in here?”

“Scared of the dark all of the sudden, Draco?” I smirked, putting my hands on my hips and motioning to the bed with my head.

“Aurors are going to be inspecting the manor early in the morning and I want to sleep in,” Draco huffed, jumping into my bed and getting under the covers. “Do you think we’ll ever get a decent professor in that accursed class?”

“Maybe… we’ll have to see,” I responded, climbing into bed as well. The thing was massive, king-sized if I had to guess. Draco and I could comfortably sleep on opposite sides of the bed without the risk of hitting each other in our sleep, but I put a long pillow between us, less I risk either of us cuddling in our sleep. “If I like a professor, I’ll tell you…”

I go quiet. Try as I might, I had to keep my breathing from exhaling aggressively. There, in the corner of my room… was Dobby. He was wringing his ears, being as silent as a church mouse but he was mouthing words to me.

_Must not go. Must not go. Harry Potter is in danger!_

The corner of my mouth twitched, and my eyelids slid down a little… I don’t know what my face must look like, but I would have to say… acceptance. To Dobby, I mouthed _I know… thank you, Dobby._

To Draco, while removing my glasses I say, “See you in the morning, I’m sleeping with my wand. If anything enters my room, I’m hexing it.”

The Auror that was stupid enough to ignore Narcissa’s insistence that “The boys are asleep, leave that room be” left croaking like a frog. Draco high-fived me and went straight back to sleep. I did too, dreaming about a snake the size of this whole manor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to mention ahead of time: Unlike with some fanfictions I have read, Lockhart will not be a pedophile or anything of the sorts in this story. I understand 100% why people assume that (the obliviating is one of them) but this is not the case. Does that mean Harry will not think that? No, of course not, Harry is a paranoid person and didn't even trust the Weasleys at first. Does this mean Lockhart is going to respect personal boundaries? Heck no, that man has zero sense of personal space and it'll show. But just be aware that no student will be in THAT kind of danger if they find themselves alone with my version of Lockhart.
> 
> I mostly wanted to bring this up because I have read WAY too many stories where this happens and not only do I want to keep my story rated T for teens and older for now. I also don't want to write that stuff.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry prevents public humiliation through survival instincts.

_SLAM! ZIP! THUD! Click-click…_ Phew~.

“I swear to Merlin if I forgot anything…” I muttered to myself, having repacked my suitcase and trunk for the third time. The first time was to make sure everything fit. The second time was with Draco there as he wanted to figure out why I packed without magic. The third time was because I’m a bloody idiot and didn’t think to just shove my books into my new bag. One less trunk to carry around.

“You do have everything, Harry,” Narcissa spoke from the door, arms loosely crossed. She let her arms fall and walk towards me, running a hand through my hair, which was noticeably straighter now that I’ve been using that magic brush. “If you forget anything we would have it be sent to you by the first morning. Dobby is the one that packs Draco’s trunk so he never forgets anything. Why did you not have him do the same for you?”

Because he would most likely hide something important? “I just like being independent…” I wrapped my arms around Narcissa in a hug. “Thank you for letting me stay here. You have no idea how much this meant to me.”

Arms envelop me. “You will always have a place here. I admit that my husband and I do not see your… perspective. I have my doubts that we will see the world the same way you see it. Nevertheless, you bring a smile to our son’s face and he came home filled with light this summer… we are willing to look away from the nontraditional views if it means Draco’s happiness.” A hand runs through my hair again. "And do try to be safe this year."

“Yeah… I’ll try to keep him out of danger. I just hope we have a normal year despite having Lockhart as a professor... but I'm sure he's not _that_ horrible. We already had a possessed teacher, what’s next? The Loch Ness monster decides to become our swimming instructor?” I snort out a laugh at the ridiculous idea. Sure unicorns and kappas are real, but there is no way the wizarding world could hide a plesiosaur!

“Hm.” I don’t like that hum. Why did she hum?! I never followed this universe after the initial eight movies came out! 

What was that hum about?!

“Mrs. Malfoy, I swear if you’re telling me that one of the most infamous cryptid in muggle history is actually real I am going to lose it." She remains quiet. "Wh-what’s next? Wendigos? The Yeti? Thunderbirds?!”

“It’s best to save those questions for when you start Care of Magical Creatures. Though I do not suggest seeking either of those three things out less you are a descendant of Newt Scamander.”

I broke the sound barrier.

“_WHAT_-?!”

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

“I will _never_ go to visit America… ever.”

“Harry, you have been saying that for the last hour, what will get you to stop being in shock?” Draco sneered, elbowing me in the arm while we pushed our trolleys along King’s Cross Station. “Sure Europe and parts of Asia have their dangerous creatures but everyone knows to not approach America with the intent of finding things. The muggles do that enough, bloody idiots. I mean, honestly. Who in their right mind goes into the forest with the intent of finding apes twice their size? They’re all mad!”

Okay, in our defence we- honestly I have no excuse and I’m not American anymore.

“I’m sure American muggles are just fine, they do tend to stick their nose in every sign of danger anywhere- Oh, for the love of succubus.” The Malfoy family ran through the barrier just in time for my dragonhide gloves to conveniently fall out of my completely sealed trunk. Hmmmmm, definitely not the work of a certain house elf. No siree.

With little patience, my gloves were shoved into my handbag. I gave the pillar to platform 9 ¾ a look and walked to it. My pride refuses to let me slam into this thing with the trolley and risk harming Sansa. Reaching out, I gave the platform a tap.

My finger hit stone.

A smack with the back of my hand? Nothing. Elbowed? Nada- ouch. Leaning against it? No comical fall. 

A few select phrases breathed through my lips as I collected my trolley and took a look at the clock. 11:01. That train is punctual to a fault, I’d bet my magic it already left.

“Great… this is beautiful… tch,” I clicked my tongue and rolled the trolley into a more private area. “Hey, Sansa… ready to do some flying?”

Sansa perked up and excitedly hopped out of her cage -which I never lock- and patiently waited for me to write down a quick note.

_Platform’s barrier sealed before I could enter. Missed the train. Need help, will remain near the train station. Use Sansa to find me. - Harry Potter_

Tying the note to Sansa’s leg I give my big, beautiful bird a big kiss on the head. “Go to Hogwarts, get any professor you can get. I don’t care who it is, you make that decision, my dear. Now… go!”

Sansa kicked off my arm and took off into the sky. Some muggles stared at her in wonder while I awkwardly shoved her cage into my bag so no one questioned why I had a large birdcage with me. I can easily explain why I had a rat with me, he's just my "science project" but a birdcage big enough to hold several parrots would raise some questions.

Now, in hindsight, I should have waited to see if the Malfoys or the Weasleys would appear and then I stay with them until a professor arrived… but I already sent Sansa out… and I wanted pizza.

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

By the time a professor arrived, it was already dark. I was sitting on a bench in a nearby park when Sansa perched by my head, preening my hair when a woman cleared her throat. Looking over, there stood Professor McGonagall who had a face that was mixed with concern and relief.

“It’s certainly good that you’ve trained your owl to find you. Now, why were you not on that train, Mr. Potter?”

“The barrier closed on me, I wasn’t able to get through,” I explained dryly like the summer air that has been hitting me in the face since this morning. What is Dobby thinking sealing the barrier? Did he think I would just... _walk_ to the Durlseys or something of that nature? I don't even know my way around London.

“I’ve never heard of something like that happening before… but I see no reason why you would lie, given you were last seen with the Malfoys. Speaking of, why did you not wait for them? Or the guardians of one of your other friends?” McGonagall pulled out her wand to dry the bench before sitting down. Another wave of her wand and a sandwich was conjured. “Eat. Once you have had your fill we will be going to Hogwarts.”

“Thank you…” I took a small bite, chicken and some pickled carrots, yum. “I was worried that… that the barrier closing was my fault and was scared that if I stayed there then none of the adults could leave. So I thought the best thing to do would be to send a note to Hogwarts for help.”

“Well…” She gave a tired sigh but regarded me fondly. “While not handled the best, what you did was smarter than some students. At least you didn’t… heaven forbid, drive a magicked vehicle or try to get to Scotland on your own.”

Heh… I’m not _that_ stupid.

I didn’t make any comments, instead choosing to finish up my sandwich. McGonagall made a pleased sound now that I was fed and we regretfully had to apparate partway -Sansa flying to Hogwarts carrying Scabbers’ cage- and walked to a carriage.

“Come on, in you go, Mr. Potter,” McGonagall ordered good-naturedly, ushering me into the dark leather seat before joining me. The threshal jerked its boney head, sputtered and started to pull the carriage. I did my best not to look at it while we road to Hogwarts in temporary silence, until the professor spoke up. “You sadly missed the sorting and the feast. I only received your owl when the students were dismissed, she kept pecking at my office window until I opened it.”

“Oh… how was the sorting? Ron had a sister going into Hogwarts this year.”

“She was sorted into Gryffindor.” McGonagall’s eyes shone with pride as her band of lions keeps growing each year. “Of course, your house has some new students as well.”

“Has there ever been a year where a house got no new students?” I questioned. The professor looked up at the night sky in thought.

“No, not that I am aware of. During the war we had fewer students that qualified for Hufflepuff than average but never did we not have at least one student go into each house. Your year, however… is smaller than other years…” She went quiet after that comment and I also fell silent. Just how many people were killed during the war? And how many potential classmates were never born either out of their parents fears or their parents never lived long enough to try?

Almost makes me wonder how many of the younger years have close birthdays. If muggles will create an abundance of children after a war, how many of the students are post-war celebratory babies?

Upon arriving at Hogwarts I was promptly dropped off into the kitchen to get a proper dinner from the house elves. I already felt horrible that I was keeping them awake, but now they insisted I taste test their new recipes so they could introduce new meals to the students. My dinner consisted of tasting European dishes that I dare not pronounce and the elves realizing that making Harry Potter try spicy Indian dishes is the easiest way for them to almost commit food murder. After a massive goblet full of milk I came to the conclusion that I should retire for the night.

Stepping out of the kitchen, who do I find standing in the hallway waiting for me? Good ol’ Filch! Joy… real joy. The embodiment of misery and grumpy old age looked about as pleased to see me as I was of him.

“Come on, I don’t have all night!” Filch spouted, walking off with Mrs. Norris at his ankle. “Students being out of bed after curfew… if I wasn’t ordered by the professors to lead you to your dorm I would be preparing a detention for you.”

“Sorry for bothering you Mr. Filch…” I murmured, keeping an eye on the old kitty who walked up to me to make sure I was behaving. “Hello pretty baby, how are you?”

While walking I stuck my hand out to let her sniff my knuckles. She did, then proceed to bite my finger and hiss, her glowing eyes staring up at me with distrust and disgust.

Aw, she likes me!

“Ow!” I stuck my now bleeding finger into my mouth and nearly tripped when we started going down the stairs to the dungeons.

“Heh… She doesn't like students, especially not trouble makers who break the rules.” Don’t lie to me Filch, I’ve owned cats before I have never met a cat that didn’t warm up to me eventually!

“It still doesn’t stop the fact that she's a beautiful cat,” I responded calmly.

Filch stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me with his face pinched in every unflattering way, “No student has ever said that about my cat.” He spat out, thinking I was lying.

“I’m an animal lover through and through, Mr. Filch. She may be a little old lady, but she’s well trained and has a unique personality. That makes her beautiful. Trust me, I’m the last person you’ll ever meet that’ll say or do anything mean to her… if someone does hurt her, you tell me, I have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

Filch stood there dumbfounded as I passed through the Slytherin room -seriously, do they not change the password?- and didn’t look back. Filch is a horrible person, but to be frank he just needs a vacation with his cat. Who has a man who hates children be the caretaker _for_ children?

The magical fires within the common room were still burning brightly when I entered, but no one was hustling about. Either the prefects were still asleep or on duty in the hallways. I headed into the dorm room Draco, Blaise, and I share only to be greeted by an interesting sight.

“Why were you not on the train?” Draco was sitting on his bed, green silk pajamas slightly wrinkled despite this only being the first night at school. His arms were crossed over his chest, legs also crossed with the suspended foot moving with an impatient rhythm. Blaise was laying on his stomach, nose in a book, and kicking his legs in the air lazily. 

“The barrier was sealed, I couldn’t get through and missed the train.”

“And you didn’t wait for my parents? They would have taken you to Hogwarts.”

“I was worried something was wrong with my magic and thought others would be trapped. I already explained this to McGonagall and I’m here now.”

Draco got to his feet, “Yes, you are. But the point is that you were not on the train. No one saw you, Harry! I even went to the Weasleys to ask if they happened to have you, but they didn’t.” The blond stormed over to me and got into my face which I backed up.

I raised my hands in an “I surrender” pose, “Woah, Draco, why are you getting angry?”

“I’m not angry! Do you realize how worried I was when my best friend wasn’t on the train with me and no one would give me answers?! One minute he’s behind me and the next he’s not! So forgive me for being a little heated up!” And then he hugged me. Draco never initiates these kinds of hugs, but here he was… giving me a hug. “Don’t scare me like that again, Harry.”

“I’ll try not to, sorry Draco…” I returned the hug, waiting for him to calm down.

Blaise closed his book with a snap and grinned at us. “If the married couple is done arguing, let’s all go to bed shall we?”

“_We are not a couple_!” Draco and I snapped at the fellow Slytherin, me out of embarrassment and Draco just being… Draco. We looked at each other, paused, then let out laughs.

“Sure, explain that to Pansy, not me,” Blaise yawned out and crawled under his bed. I never saw him put away his book though…

Draco and I climbed into our beds and the lights went off.

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

Note to self: Always go first through the pillar so I don’t die from hugs!

“Harry! We were so worried!” Hermione exclaimed as she and Pansy were having a competition on who could choke the most air out of me. I think Hermione is winning but that's because she got to my diaphragm first.

“Hermione said we should put a tracker on you and while I don’t know what that is, I agree with her!” Pansy shouted… right into my ear.

“Owowowow! Girls, I’m sorry! It won’t happen again, just stop yelling in my ears!” I wriggled free from the human pythons. “I promise, I won’t have any more train problems. This will be a one time incident. Now can we enjoy breakfast, please?”

“Oh alright. But we are keeping an eye on you,” Hermione said, making the “I’ve got my eyes on you” motion then scampered off to the Gryffindor table and plopping next to Neville and Ginny. Ron and the twins sat across from them, with Fred -I think- giving Ginny tips about classes. Based on Hermione and Neville nodding, he was being serious in preparing his little sister for school.

We snakes sat at the table together and I had a massive pile of porridge with an almost unhealthy amount of diced apples and pears mixed in. Shoveling a large scoop into my mouth and ignoring Blaise’s scrunched up face as I bit down on an apple piece, I looked at the new kiddos this year. Don’t care much for the Slytherin kids, same for Hufflepuff. Gryffindor we have Ginny and- aw, I forgot about Colin! I’ll need to say hi to him later, he looks so shy! Now in the Ravenclaw table… there she is.

Sitting at the Ravenclaw table was someone who I’ve been wanting to meet for a very long time. The other Ravenclaws were keeping their distance from her, but she didn’t seem to care while she read her magazine upside down. We’ll need to change that. The alone part, of course. Everything else about her was uniquely perfect.

“No.”

“Huh?” I looked to my left where Draco was eating some eggs. “What do you mean ‘no’? I wasn't going to do anything.”

“You’re about to get up and go do your weird Harry-Thing where you just know you have to talk to someone." He waves his fork around like a wand then pointed it at me, the prongs inches from my nose. "Whoever it is, give them some time to adjust to school first. It hasn't even been a day and we all need to readjust for whatever you have planned.”

“... But that means I can make a new friend?” I asked innocently, batting my eyelashes which makes Pansy snort into her pumpkin juice. I reflectively hand her a napkin to clean her face.

Draco, missing my expression due to eating, leaned away from Pansy. “Merlin, Pans! Why do you have to do that? It's bad enough when Harry did it!” He looks to me with a disgruntled expression, part of his robe now had that cursed orange liquid slowly rolling down the fabric. “We already agreed that I wouldn’t interfere with who you make friends with. Now, where is that peacock feather you had gotten? I didn’t see it with your stuff.”

“It’s there,” I answered blankly, taking a long sip of blueberry herbal tea which caused everyone's eyes to twitch because I don't believe in quiet first-sips. “You’ll see what I did with it during our first DADA class.”

Draco blinked, “But… we don’t have that until..." He checks his schedule. "Wednesday?”

Another long sip and then setting down the cup with a pleased sigh.

“Like I said: DADA class.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little on the shorter end but it's all good. Next chapter will have the first ever DADA class with Lockhart; I had way too much fun writing that one.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DADA class starts and Harry spoils a lion cub.

On Wednesday we entered the DADA classroom and… well, minus the pungent smell of garlic I don’t see much of an improvement. Gone were the messy cages of magical creatures and the educational vibe that Quirrell miraculously created and in with at least a dozen moving portraits that stroked Lockharts’ overinflated ego.

‘Only a dozen? This is nothing compared to how many portraits are in the Malfoy manor.’ I thought to myself with a minor chuckle. Draco gave me a look, but when he followed my eyes, a similar sound bubbled out of his throat. Good, even he understands how that many portraits can be stupid.

We took our seats in the third row by the windows, as usual, the Slytherins gathered in the same column while the Gryffindors took over the other column of desks. This had become our routine. With our year being so small, if you befriend even a handful of students you basically control the seating arrangements for the entire year. This is why I can lean around Draco and wave towards Hermione -who sat with Ron- and Neville who sat with Seamus. Pansy, Blaise, Crabb, and Goyle sat either behind or in front of Draco and me.

“Let me introduce you all, to your new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor… me!” Lockhart entered the room with that opening line, letting out a condescending chuckle. He leisurely went down the stairs from his office to the class, talking about himself and smiling charmingly at the ladies.

_Sigh…_

‘Hermione I swear to Hades and Anubis if that was you sighing you are _GROUNDED_-’

“I’d thought we’d start today with a little quiz!” My thoughts were shut down when Lockart pulled out the stacks of parchment and began to hand them out to the students. “Just to see how much of my books… you’ve taken in.”

I looked at the quiz and winced at the fonts used to write the questions, all fancy loops, and no structure. Nearly everyone around me was muttering out loud the different types of questions that were on the test while pulling out their quills. 

Oh right, the quills. 

Clipping open my bag, I reached in until I felt the handle of my new quill. I began to pull it out, Draco noticing the white plumage of his family’s peacock’s tail feathers. I barely noticed as the room became quiet as I was pulling out the quill… and pulling… and pulling…

And pulling.

“You’re supposed to cut the feather when making a quill!” Draco hissed in my ear when I finished pulling out the 1.5-meter long peacock feather. The quill was nearly impossible to balance in my hands but I made do. The massive plumage arched over my head and dangled just above Crabb and Goyal’s table. “Is that why you bought that bag?”

I shrugged, not willing to give him a direct answer while I locked eyes with our professor. “You were going to start the test, sir?”

Lockhart, after giving his own peacock feathered quill -though not as impressive as mine- a look over, he cleared his throat. “Right… start!”

**1\. What is Gilderoy Lockhart’s favorite color?**  
_How is this relevant to the curriculum? Burnt butter_

**2\. What is Gilderoy Lockart’s secret ambition?**  
_To one day be more famous than Harry Potter, but to do that he must kill You-Know-Who which we both know will not happen in this lifetime. Or the next._

**3\. What in your opinion is Gilderoy Lockart’s greatest achievement to date?**  
_To have the privilege of teaching the famous Harry Potter how to defend himself against the dark forces of the world. Honestly Professor, I killed a troll at 11 and saved Hogwarts already with more plans in the future; you have some catching up to do._

**4\. When is Gilderoy Lockart’s birthday and what would his ideal gift be?**   
_ I do not know and I do not care. May 7th, 1764. Your fashion matches the date, Professor. You want a muggle fashion magazine for your birthday, specifically Vogue. You seem like the kind of guy to like Vogue._

**5\. How many times has Gilderoy Lockhart won Witch Weekly’s Most-Charming-Smile award?**   
_ I don’t know, I’m 12 and a boy, why should I read that? Is this question even appropriate? _

**6\. In his book “Break with a Banshee”, how did Gilderoy Lockhart bravely banish the Brandon Banshee?**   
_ Oh look, a question relevant to the curriculum about a book I didn’t read. He bathed in holy water from a muggle church then ran at it naked with earmuffs on. The sight alone would make me banish myself if I was the Banshee._

**7\. Which is Gilderoy Lockhart’s best side for a photograph?**   
_ HOW IS THIS A PART OF THE CURRICULUM? I AM A 12-YEAR-OLD BOY I SHOULD NOT BE TELLING A FULL GROWN MAN WHICH SIDE MAKES HIM LOOK SEXY IN A PICTURE!!! Shouldn't you know this already?! You seem to like the camera enough to know this by now. By the way: The left side is my best side, and my most famous :)_

For the next 45 questions, if it was book-related I would state that I did not read the books, followed with a ridiculous claim ranging from him beating the Yeti in a spaghetti eating contest to having an… ahem… gentle and loving relationship with the hag. Any and all further questions about Lockhart’s personal life was a question about the curriculum, if he was actually our professor, how was he a Ravenclaw, and the reminder that we are all 12 and his questions are inappropriate in a school environment.

Draco saw my test answers at some point during the quiz and had to bite his lip to keep from smirking. I then saw him answer the question **What dangerous, magical creature does Gilderoy Lockhart wish to one day tame?** with “A lamb”. 

We are mean children.

When he collected the tests, we quietly watched him flip through them all, tsking away as none of us seemed to have gotten his answers right. Of course, Hermione got them all correct and he complimented her as such- cue Draco scooting away from me due to bloodlust. But then, Lockhart froze.

And paled… then turn very red from embarrassment… then lifted his head at the class with a look of an unexplainable horror.

Oh, he got to mine it seems. I wonder if he likes the idea of his favorite drink being harpy milk?

“Harry… Harry Harry Harry…” Lockhart sighed dramatically, “I know being famous is hard, especially when your teacher is as famous as me. However, there is no need to hide all that frustration behind such mean answers. Everyone knows I would never wear polka dots to a wedding.”

‘I thought that’s what clowns are supposed to wear?’ I tensed my body up in the silent prayer that I don’t say that out loud. Everyone seemed to hang onto the polka dot comment so my prayer was answered. “No comment, sir.”

“_Harry_,” Lockhart started, sounding like that uncle who found out his nephew wants to be a ballerina dancer instead of a baseball player. “Would you like to explain your answers to the class?”

I curled my fingers and began to examine my nails, sticking out my pinky finger to quickly push up my glasses. “No, I don’t think I will. I think I’d rather go complain to Professor Snape about the lack of teaching the test contained.”

“Now now, no need for that! I have a surprise for everyone for this first class!" Oh no…

A noise escaped Draco's throat and nose when I pulled out my wand from my robes and hid it under the desk. Next thing I knew, multiple sounds of robes shuffling around and a couple echoes of wood hitting the desks were happening. It was like a Jack-In-The-Box on its last turn before bouncing, tense and uncomfortably still.

Lockhart didn't seem to notice as he strode over to a covered cage. He tapped it with his wand and the cage shook violently with garbling noises coming from it. Cue five more students pulling out their wands.

Lockhart gave us a warning to not scream, pulling the cloth back to reveal the Cornish Pixies. Cornflower blue creatures about a foot tall, twiggy limbs but large hands and feet with bellies that rounded like a man on 20 years of beer.

In short: These are really… _really_ ugly.

"Cornish Pixies?" Seamus asked in an amused tone. The tone may be amused, but I knew he was one of the students with their wands ready. I think the only students that didn't have their wands were Hermione and whatever girls still had blind crushes for this man.

"Freshly caught, to be precise." Lockhart attempts to reassure us that even though they were dangerous, a bunch of 12-year-olds could handle them. How does he do that? _By releasing them!_

Chaos ensued immediately. Pixies pulled on girl's hair, tore at books and tried to pick up students. Lockhart hid in his office almost right away, leaving us to take care of the mess. Once a pixie decided to see how close they could get to me with scissors, I decided to test out a little bit of Transfiguration theory.

"_Ligneus Ursa_!" I spouted off random Latin while pointing at the desks. The wooden desks shifted and merged to form a massive grizzly bear, which violently swung at the pixies but avoided my classmates. Now students were screaming because I just transfigured some desks into a bear! "Holy mandrakes, that actually worked! I have got to get my hands on a Latin dictionary!"

"Harry! Really?! Was a bear really necessary? It could kill someone!" Hermione scolded as she smacked a pixie with a book to get away from her. 

"It was the first animal that came to mind, Hermione! Do you want wolves next time, I can do wolves!"

"How about not inventing spells around people?!" She huffed, completely done with this and pointed her wand into the air. "_Immobulus_!"

Her wand poured out a sharp blue light. The light hit the pixies and the bear, freezing them both. Pixies helplessly floated in the air and I transfigured the bear back into desks. We put the pixies back in their cage, Hermione and Blaise transfiguring some broken chain from one of the room decors into a padlock with a key, putting the key on Lockhart's desk. 

The rest of the class time was spent repairing everyone's books. trashy as they are, these books cost a pretty galleon -or several- and there was no way any of us were going to repay for new books.

"Okay," I clapped loudly to get my classmates' attention. "Since we just dealt with pixies and Professor Lockhart didn't assign homework, how about we do a paragraph on why you shouldn't release them around children?" Murmurs of agreements lightly echoed the room, even Ron was nodding his head to that idea.

Stepping out of the classroom with my friends, Seamus strode over to me with a funny grin. “So we’re not going to learn much in his class, eh Potter?” 

“I doubt it. He doesn’t seem to have the ability to teach anything,” I replied, leaning against Pansy who just stood there having a mental conversation with Hermione with hand motions. She was praising Hermione on her usage of the _Imobulus_ spell while also making fun of how my magic handled the situation. Ah, I miss girl code.

“Bummer…" Seamus groaned and rubbed his face with his hands.

"Why do you guys trust my judgment anyway? I'm not even from your house," I asked with a tilt of the head.

"Because the last professor you hated had You-Know-Who on the back of his head," Dean reasoned as he walked by. "If anything, it would be stupid for any of us to not take your opinions seriously."

"Exactly! It's like you can sense danger. Think you and Granger can whip up some material we should study on our free time then? Don’t think any of us want to fail any tests.” Several nearby Gryffindors nodded in agreement with Seamus.

I exchanged looks with Hermoine and we both nod. “Yeah, I think so. We don't have a specific curriculum..." I scratch my neck in thought. "Right... take the main monster in each of Lockhart’s books and research them using other books, anyone but Lockhart.”

“Harry!” And there's Hermione refocusing on the conversation. “I will help everyone study but Lockhart is just new to teaching, you shouldn’t say such things! His books are very informative.”

“Hermione, you just like him because he writes pretty,” I said while reaching over and moving some of her hair off her face. “I just find it suspicious that he could deal with banshees and trolls -which I remind you that I _killed one last year_\- yet could not handle pixies.”

Hermione let out several sounds then puffed out her reddening cheeks. With a “hmph!” she stomped off, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil immediately jump to talk to her about Lockhart and how “handsome he is”. 

Was this… is this how twelve-year-old girls are supposed to act? Was I just weird growing up the first time around? Lockhart isn’t even that pretty! He’s average at best, painfully so. It doesn’t help that he dresses like a golden, endangered species with bleached teeth. How do women find him attractive when he has that hair-?

“Harry, stop.”

“Huh?” I looked at Draco bewildered, only to notice we weren't in the same location anymore. We were in one of the courtyards, everyone but me and Pansy -who I was still leaning against- were sitting in the grass with books out. “How did we…?”

“You were having an inner monologue again, Harry darling,” Pansy giggled and nudged me off of her. “You followed us without responding. Your eyes get cloudy and focused on a random spot in the air every time you do it! I find it rather endearing. Your eyes really tell what's on your mind.”

I groaned and joined everyone on the grass, Pansy deciding that my leg would be the perfect pillow while she read her potions textbook. I opened up transfiguration and propped the massive book on my free leg, threading my hand into Pansy’s soft hair which she didn’t mind.

We fell into relatively peaceful quiet. The weather was chilling just enough to make sitting out in the sun bearable and we didn’t have a class for several hours. Blaise was chewing the end of his thumb as he underlines and circled what I assumed to be key points in his books. Crabbe and Goyle have been staring at the same page for the last several minutes, but neither seemed too keen on asking any of us for help. And Draco…

“I still cannot believe you bought an undetectable extension charm bag! A woman’s handbag specifically!”

He’s still hanging onto that little bit of information.

“It’s my color though, and it holds everything nicely,” I reasoned half-heartedly, holding up the green handbag which made Pansy burst into another fit of giggles.

“How are you allowed to bring that to school?” Draco asked, trying to reach for my bag.

“Dunno,” I said while leaning back and holding my bag far away from his reach. “I didn’t read anything about them being banned and I don’t have anything illegal in my bag… I think.” I stuck my head in my handbag, earning me a few surprised sounds from my friends then pulled my head back out. “Nope, nothing illegal in here!”

“Harry…” Draco sighed out but gave up once he realized that this was a battle he was sure to lose. “Just don’t get yourself into trouble.”

“Trouble? Moi? I want a nice, normal year this time around thank-you-very-much.” I crossed my arms with an affirmative nod, only to suddenly be blinded by the flash of a camera. “What the-?”

“Hi, Harry!” A hyper, blond-haired Gryffindor waved to me excitedly from the opposite side of the half-walls of the courtyard. “My name is Colin, Colin Creevey! I’m a first-year in Gryffindor! Sorry about the flash, I just got so excited to see you. D-Do you think I could take a picture of you? Just to prove to my dad that I met you? I know all about you and everyone talks about how you were the one to make You-Know-Who disappeared and how you killed a troll as a first-year and-”

Oh my god, I met the human representative of a puppy and I want to adopt him. He’s still rambling, which has become more nervous as he was being stared down by half a dozen Slytherins. 

“If you want to take a photo of me, I don’t mind.” I get up -mindful of Pansy’s head- just to stop the poor kid from fainting of excessive talking. “Is this a muggle camera?”

Colin nodded enthusiastically which left me concerned for his brain. “Yes! But I was told that I can develop them to move and Professor McGonagall helped me enchant my camera to take moving pictures, isn’t that neat, Harry?”

“Why do we never get these kinds of people in Slytherin?” I heard Pansy sigh under her breath. I take a glance and she's migrated to Draco as he was the next best pillow.

“Very neat, Colin. Oh, how did you know I was Harry Potter?” I asked, touching my hair to reaffirm that my scar was covered under my bangs as usual.

"Ron Weasley told me! He said to look for a group of Slytherins that has a boy with black hair and glasses, that’s how I was able to find you. I’m from a muggle family but he told me that you were really nice!” Colin explained, not once had his body stopped being animated as he talked... actually he hasn't stopped moving once.

‘Oh, that was nice of Ron.’ I thought to myself. “Well, okay then. Just tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it.”

We spent at least 15 minutes doing what I could only describe as a photoshoot. I would have stopped after the first couple of snaps, but Colin was such a hyper pup and kept asking about this kind of pose and perform a spell. He was so polite the entire time that I just had to indulge him. The others laughed at my expense while nearby students stopped to watch. At some point Blaise had run off and returned with Scabber’s cage and Sansa on his shoulder, preening his ear. 

An idea struck.

“Colin, do you mind if I get a copy of a photo with me and my pets? I never had the chance to take photos with them.” I motion to my beautiful feathered princess and... the rat.

“Of course, Harry! Do you want to take a picture with each individual pet and then both? I have plenty of film. Dad made sure I had enough to take as many pictures as I could to show him, maybe this will convince him to let me get a pet!”

I let out a laugh. “How about one of me and Sansa and the other with both my pets? I don’t have a close bond with Scabbers. I could take a picture of you with my owl if you want to send it to your dad.”

If happiness could be presented in the form of increased atomic vibration… Colin would have gone supernova at this point. What do they serve at the Gryffindor table and where can I get it?

Our little photoshoot ended with me holding Colin’s camera and taking photos of the kiddo with Sansa. She was on her best behavior and very gently preened his floofy hair, which I reassured him was a sign that she liked him. With that done, Sansa flew off to return to the other owls. We parted ways with Colin so I could return Scabbers and also avoid Lockhart, who just learned we were doing a photoshoot. 

"How do you do it?" Draco asked when I returned to the group, his hand on his hip.

"Do what?"

"You know…" Draco makes a vague rotation motion with his wrist, his thumb, pointer, and middle fingers loosely pointing out with the rest curled. "Make friends so easily? That kid barely knew you but you acted like he was your best mate."

"Do I smell jealousy, Draco?" I teased, bumping shoulders with him. "I just like being friendly to others that are friendly to me."

"You're not very friendly to Lockhart though," Blaise pointed out. This earned him a blank look and he backed up slightly.

"Because Lockhart is a child in an adult’s body." Ooooh… the hypocrisy in that statement. "I don't need to be friendly. I bet I can get him sacked before Easter, that'll force Dumbledore to actually hire someone competent!" 

Blaise shrugged with a sigh and walked off, most likely to find another set of Slytherins to chat up with or to find Hermione. Pansy had something to talk to with Professor Sprout and took the meaty duo with her, leaving me with Draco. 

"Well… let's go read up on Lockharts… 'achievements'." Draco used air quotes. "If you plan on adding to our group, let me know."

"Okay, just letting you know, I saw a Ravenclaw that caught my attention," I say while throwing a hand up, pointer finger pointing to indicate the number 1. "If my gut is right... expect a new friend before Halloween."

"Bloody hell…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Isn't Colin just the sweetest? I enjoy writing him because it gives me an excuse to ignore commas for a minute. XD
> 
> Feel free to make up your own questions and answers to Lockhart's test! We never get to see all of the questions so I just made up a bunch, it was fun to see how mean I could answer things in a creative fashion.
> 
> Bit of translation for Harry's BS Transfiguration spell: I used google translate to find these two Latin words. Separately they literally translate to "wooden" and "bear". I figured with some spells if you spout random Latin, something is bound to happen.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry prepares future planning and bonds with more animals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, hope you all had a good holiday no matter what you celebrate!

The day after our DADA class, we had Herbology in the morning and Transfiguration after lunch, honestly the best way to handle a Thursday. 

The day was oddly dry for Scotland. In the corner of my eye I watch Blaise pull off his tie and shove it into his schoolbag while Pansy pulled her short hair into a low ponytail. Said girl changed her angle of walking so instead of walking straight like everyone else, she was heading for me. I became acutely aware of the extra hair tie being pulled by her fingers.

“Harry darling, you’re hair is growing out beautifully and it’s stunning now that it’s straight and manageable... But I know a frizzing mess when I see it and we know the greenhouse will be humid.” Pansy grabbed the back of my hair -gently of course- and skillfully pulls my hair into a ponytail, which awkwardly stuck out of the back of my head due to the length not being long enough yet. I then felt something like cloth being wrapped just behind the base of my bangs, which Pansy also pulled back. 

A hair tie and a cloth headband? Not the most stylish thing, but if it keeps my sweat off my bangs, I can deal with it.

“What’s your length goal?” Pansy asked, nodding to herself in satisfaction at her work.

“Well… I think my goal is halfway down my back then trim it if it doesn't look good. I’ve seen girls with hair that long and I think it’s beautiful,” I answered, giving her a side hug. “Course you’re hair is also beautiful, it’s bouncy and frames your face.”

Pansy dramatically rolls her eyes and shoves me so I run into Draco, who was ignoring this conversation. “You know how to charm a girl, that’s for sure.”

“I try my best- yeesh…”

“‘Yeesh’?” Draco parroted, finally pushing me out of his bubble. His head turned where I was staring and I didn’t have to look to know his face was twisted in disgust. “I agree... yeesh.”

Gilderoy Lockhart in a set of seafoam green robes- 

‘Thanks for ruining the color for me.’

-waving at me with his brightest smile possible. 

“Merlin help me… mind telling Professor Sprout why I didn’t come to class with you guys?” I received nods from my friends, though Draco was preoccupied with glaring at Lockhart. I separated from the group and walked to the faker. “Yes, sir?”

“Harry Harry Harry…” Lockhart placed a hand on my shoulder. This sudden action makes me tense up because again, _this thing is touching me_. He clicked his tongue. “I saw you taking photos for that Gryffindor boy. Famous as you are, I must give you tips for the future. No doubt will you need it if more ask you for photographs.”

… What?

“You see, if you allow them to take multiple photos, they’ll keep asking for more. You must take a single photo and leave it at that. if you don't, they’ll take more and more and it devalues your face.” Lockhart continued. “And your poses, amateur at best.”

“Amateur? Like the pixie incident?” I smirked when Lockhart paused.

“In any case,” Lockhart proceeded without much care. “You were exerting energy and since I am taking you under my wing, it's my job to help you endure the wave of fame that is sure to come your way as you grow older. For another, my expertise would help improve your hairstyle.”

“Sir, as much as this is enlightening, I have a class to attend.” I grabbed his wrist with my thumb, pointer, and middle like a claw and removed it from my person. “If it is endurance that is needed to survive, then Professor: may you be living proof that man can endure anything and that with a pretty face anything is possible without the brain.”

I briskly walked away while Lockhart hung onto the pretty comment and retreated into the greenhouse. Sprout was midway through her first greeting and she looked at me with pity.

“I’ll let this slide, Mr. Potter because I am aware of Professor Lockhart’s presence outside of the greenhouse. But next time I will be taking points off for tardiness.” Sprout informed, glancing at the door annoyingly. “Go on, get your protective gear. Mr. Malfoy, could you show him where everything is?”

Draco rushed to my side and helped me collected what I needed while Sprout talked about mandrakes. He glanced at my robes and quickly smoothed out the spot that once had Lockhart’s hand on my shoulder. “I’m writing to my father if he touches you one more time…”

I drop my voice to a low whisper, “Draco, don’t. Your father is busy as it is, I’m fine.” I put on the protective gear and grabbed a pair of earmuffs.

“Now, I want everyone to put on their earmuffs, like so, so you do not pass out from the mandrake's cry. We had a Gryffindor the other day that collapsed on the floor as a result of being overwhelmed by the lesson.” Bless Neville. “Go on.”

Sprout ushered us and we put on our muffs. Sprout used her arms to get our attention as she demonstrated how to yank out the mandrake and put it in the flower pot. I heard nothing, but the shrill cries of old memories haunted my soul.

Draco grimaced, nearly all of the Slytherins were grimacing. I locked eyes with Padma Patil, one of the few Ravenclaws in our year that I have bothered to remember. We nodded, threw our hands into the pots and yanked out the squealing creations that were the baby mandrakes. The rest of the Ravenclaws were half a second behind me and the girl, Blaise kicked off the pulling of the Slytherin’s mandrakes. We were now an army of twelve-year-olds wielding the power to knock out anyone that dares enters this greenhouse and it shall be done without mercy!

I could feel several pairs of eyes landing on me as I let out a cackle at the idea of using a mandrake on Lockhart.

We put the mandrakes into their new homes because Merlin, the vibrations were giving me a headache. We buried these little suckers in soil, but they still cried for a good ten minutes until they were satisfied, I think Draco nearly buried his entirely in soil out of retaliation. 

Sprout gave us the O.K. to take off our earmuffs and beamed at me and Padma, “Good work everyone! I believe both houses earned five points for swiftly acting as units. Well, class will end early. Ten-inch essay on the properties of mandrakes and what it can be used in.”

We left class and I returned Pansy her hair supplies when I caught she had dirt under her nails. I looked at mine and subconsciously whined. It was nearly lunchtime and there was dirt everywhere, even with the protective garden smocks and gloves we wore. Usually, I don’t mind getting dirty, but the mandrakes left an unpleasant smell stuck in my nose. It was like baby food left to rot in the July sun mixed with five months untouched compost- okay, need to stop, I just gagged.

Pansy paused, sniffed her hair and was almost matching the pitch in my whine. Now I was smelling my own hair in worry. It stunk.

“Would you two just go take a shower if you’re so worried about your smell? You both look fine to me.” Blaise asked in a kind but sharp tone. “So dramatic- Draco, where are you going?”

“I have dirt in my hair!” Draco loudly declared over his shoulder while he rushed to the washrooms, Pansy and I hot on his heels. 

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

“I cannot believe how dramatic you three are, it’s hair,” Blaise commented, throwing his arm over my shoulder as we walked to Transfiguration, giving a few mock punches to my arm. “Mine is perfectly fine.”

“You can’t smell yours with how short it is,” I retaliated, patting his head to feel his buzz cut. “Have you ever thought of growing it out?”

“And have the same hair drama as all of you? Nah, mate.” He grins, showing off his criminally white teeth. “I look the most handsome this way.”

“Fishing for compliments won’t work with Harry, Blaise,” Draco commented smugly, “If you try and poke at him, it’ll be another peacock quill moment.”

“Have you been exchanging muggle phrases with Hermione?” I asked Draco. Was the term “fishing for compliments” just a muggle thing?

Draco turned his nose away and said nothing.

We walked into the Transfiguration classroom and while my friends began to take up the basic formation of seating arrangement that would forever trap us in one spot until graduation, I went to McGonagall. We were early, thanks to Herbology ending ahead of schedule which allowed us to grab a quick bite before this class. So it was just us and a couple Hufflepuffs in the back.

“Um… Professor?” I inquired, my hands neatly clasped behind my back.

“Potter,” McGonagall greeted me, her eyes softening with relief. “I heard you spent your summer with the Malfoys. I trust everything was just as you expected?”

“Better actually! The Malfoys are incredibly kind and it was nice… being away from the Dursleys.” I shook my thoughts out and cleared my throat, “But I wanted to ask about Transfiguration.”

“The first lesson of the term and you are already asking about Transfiguration? My, I must warn Miss. Granger that she has a rival in my class then,” McGonagall said in all the seriousness of a grandmother. “What is your question, Mr. Potter?”

“I- Heheh… Um...” Why did my mouth decide now to dry out?

“Well, go on. I’m not getting any younger with this anticipation.”

“Would it be possible… for um… if I could learn about… how you can turn into a cat?” McGonagall stilled at my words, eyeing me carefully. I licked my lips nervously. “Just the study, for now. I don’t think it would be safe for me to practice it until I’m older.”

“Well, I certainly hope you do not try it at twelve…” She noted students piling in and finding their seats. “Have a seat, Mr. Potter. We will discuss this more after class and not a minute sooner, understood?”

“Yes, Professor!” I beamed at the elder witch and took my place next to Pansy. Unlike with many of the other classes, Blaise and I swapped spots for Transfiguration. Pansy needed help by seeing demonstrations and creative ideas while Blaise just didn’t want to answer questions, so sitting next to Draco was a winning case for him. Crabbe and Goyle were on their own but were stationed behind Blaise and Draco so they could watch the boys and mimic what they saw.

I honestly forget those two exist half of the time, so quiet.

“Welcome to your Second Year of Transfiguration,” McGonagall nodded to the class. “Now, we will begin with a refresher on your skills as I am certain many of you are under practiced…”

Cue a few nervous giggles.

McGonagall pretended to not hear. “Afterwards, you will begin your first lesson in turning beetles into buttons. If at least five students from each house can correctly perform this spell and then reverse it, I will not assign homework.”

Because our year is so small -hooray for war babies- students began to pile into groups to help everyone succeed in their spells. Blaise, Draco, and I completed the spell within the first five minutes of class and then we split up to help the other students. Draco got Crabbe and Goyle, Blaise took Daphne Greengrass and Theador Nott while I got Pansy and… who is this girl?

“Pardon but… what’s your name?”

The girl, who I noticed was larger in size both in weight and pure stature, scrunched her nose at me like I just offended her. “Millicent Bulstrode.”

‘Who…?’ The name sounded oddly familiar but nothing was clicking in my head. I only remembered Daphne and Theador because they have some kind of presence in the fandom and I’m always aware of them in the class. This girl? Not so much. “Okay… well, so this is how I did the spell-”

“Why should I listen to a Mudblood lover like you, Potter?” Millicent scowled, but lacking intimidation. She's way too squishy-looking to be any kind of threat.

I gave her a look. “You’re... absolutely right! You don’t have to listen to me! So Pansy,” I chirped, turning on my heel to have my back completely turned from this rude girl. I could hear her huffing in frustration, but I merely plopped my elbows on the table. I began to explain how I imagined the beetle becoming flat and transforming into a button. Millicent joined a different group.

While I was helping Pansy and subsequently practicing the color-changing charm on my new button, a Hufflepuff boy walked over to us. His whole body screamed timidness but he kept his spine straight. “Um… Harry Potter?”

“That’s me!” I raised my hand dramatically like a child whose name got called for a prize, earning eye rolls from my fellow Slytherins. “What can I help you with… um...?”

“Justin, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hufflepuff” The boy now dubbed Justin grinned, timidness vanishing once he realized that I wasn’t going to give him the cold shoulder. “I was wondering if you could show me how the spell works? I’m a little stuck…”

Wait… Justin…_ Oh no_. Just keep smiling Harry, be polite.

“Nice to meet you, Justin. Come on, don’t be shy, we don’t bite.” Pansy and I made room for Justin to join us as I demonstrate the spell again. Pansy got her spell working and is now trying to mess with the patterns of the button before reverting it back.

“I have to congratulate you on being famous, defeating You-Know-Who and all,” Justin rambled along, practicing the spell in between statements. “Even us Muggleborn families know who you are.”

Behind us, Milicent groaned about the fact that a Muggleborn was within breathing distance of her. I glance at her with a raised eyebrow.

“I suggest you bugger off to complain about someone that shares your personal beliefs. In case you haven’t noticed, most of the people in this room are friends with a muggle-born and don’t care about what you think.” I look back at my little teaching group after and promptly ignored her for the rest of the class. Justin liked to talk about how impressed he was with others, and how because of Lockhart’s books helped convince his mum to let him go to Hogwarts. Merlin’s beard… what is with mothers and thinking someone with a pretty face equal qualifications?

At the end of the class, McGonagall looked at the class with a pleased expression. “While a few of you will need some more practice, I will keep my word and not assign homework.”

The class let out a collective sigh. Considering how the Hufflepuff house had so few students in our year, every one of them must have performed it satisfactory enough to warrant no homework. 

My friends left the classroom with our schoolmates so I could talk to McGonagall privately.

"Now Mr. Potter, what I do to transfigure into a cat is called _Animagus_. It is an advanced spell that I do not even cover until next year and any books covering it are in the restricted section," McGonagall explained calmly.

I nodded in understanding, "But is it possible for me to study it early on? I'm really curious about it." 

McGonagall regarded me through her spectacles. I could hear the math equations in her brain. Either she gives me the opportunity, or there is no doubt I'll figure it out on my own and possibly get hurt.

Or worse, I'll go ask Lockhart for access to the information.

While I was mildly insulted at the possibility of her thinking that, her eyes did widen a fraction.

"If…" McGonagall started, her voice stern. "If you keep a clean record with me for the term. From today until Christmas Holiday. I will sign a permission form for you to read the Animagus books. This includes perfect attendance, punctual submitting of homework, and no detention given by me. Am I clear, Mr. Potter?”

I slowly raise my hand despite being the only student in the room. “Is the deal off if I get detention from… say… Professor Snape?”

“I would hope you wouldn’t give teachers a reason to give you detention, but no. Considering your… friendship with Fred and George Weasley that would be unreasonable for me to demand of you.”

“Perfect record until Christmas. Got it!” I gave her a thumbs-up, froze, then shoved my hands into my lap and politely nod my head. “Er… I mean, yes Professor.”

McGonagall looked as if she was trying very hard not to laugh. “You may go now, Mr. Potter.”

With a nod, I stood up and rushed out of the classroom with my face growing red. Oh Merlin, why did I give the thumbs up to McGonagall?! What am I? An anime protagonist? Stupid, stupid, _stupid_! 

“Harry?”

“Huh- OW!” I rubbed my face because I ran into a pillar, luckily my glasses were unharmed. “Ugh… Hermione?”

“Are you okay?” Hermione rushed to my side to check my face. “Oh, good you’re okay. I wanted to ask you something. Come on!”

Hermione took my wrist and dragged me away, earning weird looks from some students and a few older girls began whispering to each other, frantically. Not at all being subtle about it either.

“I hear any rumors about me and you’ll all find yourself sounding like a rooster with a bad cold for a month!” I shouted at them while Hermione turned at a sharp corner and up some stairs where there were fewer students. “You could have just asked me to follow you, ‘Mione…”

“Sorry, I just wanted to ask this now,” Hermione said, sitting down on a ledge, kicking her feet slightly. “Why did you mention a black book during summer?”

I bit my lip and crossed my arms, leaning against the wall. “It’s Ginny… She…” I rubbed my face with one of my hands, letting it linger over my scar. “I saw a black leather book with, I think either bronze or gold corners, in her cauldron when we were shopping and… I just got this- this weird feeling from it. I’m worried it might be dark magic.”

“We should tell a teacher!” Hermione jumped to her feet. Leave it to Hermione to be the one to want to tell an adult.

“No!” I lowered my voice, “No, Hermione, I think that’s a bad idea. If it turns out to be nothing it’ll just ruin Ginny’s start to Hogwarts. All I’m asking is that you watch her back and if you see the book, grab it and bring it to me.” She gave me a funny look, so I put a hand over my heart and held up my other hand. “I swear, if it turns out to be dangerous I will tell a Professor immediately.”

“If it’s dark magic we should give it to Professor Lockhart,” Hermione said… unfortunately.

“I was thinking Snape, personally, or McGonagall.” She frowned at my decision but relented, it’s not like either of those professors are unqualified in handling dark objects.

Hermione let out a heavy sigh, “This won’t be like last year where it turns out a teacher is working for… You-Know-Who… right? You won’t get hurt again, right?” 

“My scar hasn’t hurt so far so I think that’s a good start.” That won’t kick up again until my fourth year with the Triwizard Tournament… universe, please don’t make me participate in that. I will literally do _anything_ if it means not participating in that thing. “Quidditch tryouts are this weekend, wanna see Draco become the new Seeker for Slytherins?”

“Well, I hope he improves the team, awful cheaters. He should make it by pure talent.”

I hummed in agreement. Draco has shown signs of maturity and he practiced nearly every afternoon during the summer; that hard work has to mean something in the eyes of the Quidditch captain.

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

That Saturday, it was cold and wet out as it had rained the previous night. For some reason, this was always deemed perfect weather for Quidditch practices and tryouts. Though, to be fair this was also Scotland. Asking for warm sunshine in September was like trying to get a tan in Antarctica.

During the tryouts for Slytherin Seeker I kept as close to Hermione as she would allow me... which means I became a penguin. I also stuck close to her to make sure Marcus Flint didn’t say anything. Things were going smoothly… and then…

“_DRACO LUCIUS MALFOY!_ I came out here in the godforsaken cold to watch you show off your skills and you PULL OUT SEVEN NEW BROOMSTICKS?! I cannot _BELIEVE_ that after all this time you do something so immature and pathetic as to _bribe_ your way onto the team! Don’t you smirk at me you bloody ferret or else I’m going to take your broomstick and SHOVE IT UP YOUR-!”

Let’s just say Draco made it to the team, and I discovered that I have the voice of a howler.

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

  
**Side Story #1: Mrs. Norris**

I left Astronomy class early to use the restroom. Professor Sinistra reluctantly gave me a note to be out in the hallways after I had presented a complete diagram of Uranus, its rings and moons. It felt… empowering knowing that I could technically walk around Hogwarts late at night without getting in trouble, except I really did need to use the restroom and was not doing this to avoid Draco.

Making my journey back to class, I heard a very annoyed meow.

Mrs. Norris was prowling over to me, growling low in her throat with her tail low and flickering aggressively. 

“Well, hello again~” I raised my voice slightly, holding my hand out to her. “I have a note and I’m going to class. How are you?” She hisses at my hand and yowls for her human. “Awww~ You’re so mad~! Come here, princess.”

Mrs. Norris did not appreciate the fact that instead of being intimidated, there is now a small, weird-smelling human trying to reach for her. She let out another yowl and a hiss when I walked behind her then seamlessly scooped her up into my arms. Her front paws resting against my left arm while I used my right arm to support her butt and hind legs, her tail beating into me relentlessly, but it felt no different than a feather duster.

“Shhhh... You’re fine sweetheart…” My voice remained high-pitch but my tone soft. Mrs. Norris was not pleased in the slightest, but the way I held her practically forced her to be still and prevented sudden scratches to my face. I gave her a few careful pets since my right hand was still free, and marveled at how skinny she was. I understand that she’s old, but I’m starting to feel her spine! Yikes! 

And then, I rubbed her chin with my pointer finger.

It was like a switch had flipped in this kitty’s head and she became a relaxed mushy furball of purrs. Mrs. Norris stretched her neck out and I continued giving her the desired message. Her whole demeanor changed and she continued to purr as I sat down on the floor with her in my lap and gave her finger-tip massages on her neck and side of her belly. I have never met a cat that didn't like their chin rubbed and Mrs. Norris continues to further my belief that it's the best spot for scritches.

“What are you doing out here?” Filch’s voice snapped both of us out of the moment. Mrs. Norris climbed out of my lap and happily trotted to her human with a pleased meow. I watch as he scoops up his beloved cat, checking her for injuries as she purrs in his arms.

“I have a note,” I say automatically, holding up my permission note from my professor.

“What were you doing with my cat?” He spat out in barely contained rage.

“I petted her. She likes her chin rubbed.”

Filch paused then looked at his cat. Carefully he rubbed his pointer finger under her chin. If she was purring loudly while in my arms, she became a motorboat in the arms of her favorite human; making air biscuits and closing her eyes and eventually making a satisfied meow. Rather adorable scene.

“Mr. Filch?”

“What is it?” His voice had less hostility than before.

“She’s really thin. Might I suggest you ask the house elves to give her a special diet to put some weight on? Since she’s active the extra food would help her energy.”

Filch halted his petting and carefully ran a hand down Mrs. Norris’ spine. He muttered something under his breath then let his head give me a shaky nod. “Alrigh’, get out of here and get back to class.”

I left on quick feet and return to my class, though my brain was slowly beginning to shut down from exhaustion and the fact that sleep was a vital part of my natural functions. I sat next to Pansy and helped her work on her diagram while Draco kept looking up at me. I ignored him. Pansy rolled her eyes and patted her leg, which I happily began to use as a pillow while helping her work on her diagram. I ended up falling asleep and was woken up by her fifteen minutes before class ended.

Later that week, I put a first-year Gryffindor in a leg-locking jinx because I heard they kicked Mrs. Norris, something that I have no idea why it’s an approved hobby of students. If that was my cat they kicked, they would have found scissors in their neck. Filch has been noticeably more pleasant around me in his own way by not giving me the evil eye whenever spotting me. That evening during dinner I had received a cookie in the shape of a sleeping cat with my dessert. I didn’t need to look at the staff table to know who it was from.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harry is just setting up everything for the future at this point. Yes, he will eventually become an Animagus, but what will he turn into? You'll just have to wait and see as this will happen in a future book. I will state that I firmly do not believe that your Patronus is what you transform into. If you really did turn into your Patronus then that means Snape would turn into a doe... and that's just weird.
> 
> I will also announce that a certain little Ravenclaw will make her big debut in next week's chapter! Hope you guys are excited for her to arrive!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry makes a new friend and he can never get a break on Halloween.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everyone! 2020 and the start of a new decade!

Fate finally threw me a bone during the first week of October.

I had a rare moment of alone time. While I want to spend as much time with my friends as possible, I also like being away from others for just a little while. No Slytherins talking about random rich kids stuff, no Weasley twins asking about pranks, no Hermione to ask about homework. Just me, myself, and I.

And of course, the giggling group of Ravenclaw girls on the opposite end of the courtyard, looking at something. I decided to leisurely walk by them to listen. There was at least two first years and three older students. There was, oddly enough, no one from my year since I didn't recognize any of them.

"She's _actually_ walking barefooted! That's hilarious." A first-year giggled to what looked like either an average-sized fourth year or a very tall first year."How did someone like_ her_ make it into Ravenclaw?"

"This is going to be so much fun, she's so ditzy I'd bet she thinks… what was she prattling about yesterday? Nargles?" My ears perked up like a dog about to get a walk. "I bet she thinks they took them."

Craning my neck, I spotted a head with light blond hair and dark roots, familiar in memory but a stranger in person. She was aimlessly wandering around, barefooted, no doubt looking for her shoes. Simple commands clicked into my brain like a computer using hotkeys.

First priority: Adopt. 

Second Priority: Point the Weasley twins in the direction of their next target. _Immediately_.

"What goes around comes around…" The Ravenclaw group froze up and whipped their heads to see a very unamused Slytherin. "I'm sure you know who I am by this point, yes?"

The younger students had faces that translated to "Why should we care what you say?" while the older ones faces seemed to say "We are going to die."

Oh yeah, they still remember the troll incident and no doubt heard about the bear.

I said nothing else to them and walked towards the barefoot girl. She didn't notice me until I reached out and lightly tapped on her shoulder. "Excuse me?"

The girl looked at me, silver-blue eyes, dreamy and unfocused. "You're Harry Potter… I'm Luna Lovegood."

"Hi, Luna. I was curious and wanted to ask why you didn't have shoes on?"

"It's the oddest thing… all of my shoes have magically disappeared. I think the nargles took them. I didn't expect Hogwarts to have so many… I should ask my father how to do a school-wide removal." Luna let out a soft sigh and started to resume her search, but stopped when I pulled out my wand.

'Can't hurt to see how this charm works on me.' I waved my wand the same way I had seen Percy use it before. "_Accio Luna Lovegood's shoes!_" 

At first, nothing happened. Luna’s expression never changed, waiting to see what would happen next. I glared at my wand and growled. "Rude."

It finally glowed. Out of nowhere, the Ravenclaws that had hidden Luna’s shoes screamed in fear as three pairs of shoes flew in my direction like they were shot out of cannons.

“Duck!” I grabbed Luna because who knows if she knows what that means and yanked her to the ground. The shoes slammed into the wall right where our heads were supposed to be, then land harmlessly -and miraculously undamaged- on the floor.

Luna got up and collected her shoes, putting on a pair. “You managed to pull them from the nargles… not many wizards are able to. You must be well equipped in magic.”

I let out a nervous laugh, heart racing because we could have died because of shoes. But hey, she got them back! 

“Hehe, yeah! Sure… Nargles…” I cleared my throat. “Um, do you have a class to go to? Any friends to meet up with?”

“No… not many people from my house have been interested in talking to me. They called my father rude things and I don’t want to be friends with people like that,” Luna answered maturely.

I nodded slowly and broke into a wide grin, “Would you like to meet my friends? I’m sure they would like to meet you and I’m curious about… nargles? I never heard of them before.”

“They’re really rare creatures, my father researches them and many other magical creatures for his magazine _The Quibbler_.” Luna fiddled with a cork that was attached to her necklace. “Butterbeer corks ward them off.”

I didn’t mean to, but one of my eyebrows shot up. I gave her a blank stare of confusion while she, carefully I might add, began to explain the different creatures she helped research. Luna never seemed to notice or care that I was shepherding her in the direction where I knew some of my friends were, carrying her shoes for her. We passed the Ravenclaws and while Luna was talking about the Blibbering Humdinger. I snapped my head in their direction, glaring at them.

I sometimes wonder what I look like in the eyes of other students, particularly in moments like these. Pansy once told me that my eyes are scary when I’m mad, they almost seem to glow. So what must I look like to them? A glowing eyed Slytherin, walking with a smaller girl, carrying her shoes like they were national treasures and sketching each of their faces into his brain for future reference. Most of them began to turn pale the longer I stared.

Oh yes, none of these Ravenclaws will bully her again. I'll make sure of that.

We found the Gryffindors first. Hermione was correcting Neville’s completed essay while ignoring Ron’s begging because his essay wasn’t even half done. Fred and George were doing either homework or planning out an elaborate plan of prankage.

“Hey everyone,” I greeted them, Luna stayed behind me. “Where are all the snakes?”

Neville waved at Luna and me, “Hi Harry, I think Draco is in Quidditch practice and Zabini and Parkinson are with him, dunno where the other two blokes are. Who’s your friend?”

“This is Luna, Luna Lovegood.” I take a step back so instead of behind me, she is standing by my side. “I met her on my way over here and thought she’d be a fun addition to our circle.”

“Brilliant! Nice to meet you, Luna, I’m Neville Longbottom.” Neville pushed himself up and offered to shake the girl’s hand, which she didn’t because... she’s Luna. He didn’t seem to mind though, a bright grin on his face and retreated his hand to scratch his face.

“Harry, why are you carrying shoes?” Hermione asked, pointing at Luna’s shoes with her quill, accidentally hitting Ron in the nose with the feather, who then sneezes. 

“Bless you, Ron,” I comment to him then return my attention to Hermione. 

I mouthed the word “bullies” to her while Luna answered, voice a little on the sleepy side. “He saved them from the nargles. They like to steal my shoes and papers. It would sometimes take me an hour to find them but Harry was able to overcome them with his summoning charm.”

Hermione’s brain seemed to split into two, her head twisting between me and Luna. The questions, math equations, and electrical currents dancing over her head like a cartoonish thought bubble of chaos. On one hand: I managed to perform a charm correctly?! And another one that seemed to be blasting out with enough air horns to actually reach it to her lips.

“What… in the world… are nargles?” Hermione’s eyes were large, staring at Luna like she was mad. Hermione is someone of logic and reason, if it’s not in a published work, it’s not possible and should not be taken seriously… I honestly cannot blame her with that reasoning. 

“They’re little mystical thieves, Hermione. They are to wizards what unicorns are to muggles.” I said, twisting my wrist casually while I spin a reason for why Hermione shouldn’t go absolutely bonkers on these kinds of creatures. It technically worked when looking into unicorn lore.

“Unicorns are to… Ohh!” Her mouth formed an O shape and she slowly nodded. Though this didn’t make her happy, Hermione patted a spot by her and Neville for Luna to sit, which she did. “Nice to meet you, I’m Hermione Granger. We’re going over Defense essays if you want to help.”

“I wouldn’t mind helping, I finished my work this morning,” Luna responded and promptly founded Ron’s essay in her lap, said Weasley looking at her with large puppy eyes. I laughed at how pitiful Ron could be in schoolwork and put Luna’s shoes by her legs so she can take them back whenever she wanted to leave.

“It’s like being stared at by a plimpy…” Luna’s kind remark was met with Ron’s face going red, the twins and Neville falling backwards in laughter, and Hermione and I are watching this in confusion. “I meant that as a compliment.”

“Blimey, I like this girl!” Fred exclaimed, George was too busy laughing to talk with his brother and the two get to their feet to talk to me. “Good pick, mate.”

“Tha-!” I bend forward coughing when George’s hand slammed onto my back. “-nks…”

“You’re welcome!” Fred said, hooking his arm under mine while George did the same. “Don’t worry lads and lasses, we’ll return Harry in a moment!”

“No need for alarm!” George proclaimed and I was carried off to an empty classroom. Neville looked alarmed while neither of the girls seemed to care. I feel loved.

“Now,” Fred started.

“Harry,” George continued.

“We couldn’t help but notice…”

“You mouthed to Hermione…”

“That the little snow raven you brought to our group…”

“_Is being bullied?_” They ended in unison.

I clapped my hands together and pressed my pointers to my lips with a sharp inhale and an even sharper exhale. The twins' eyes darkened in a slightly protective way. “Yeah, her housemates were hiding her shoes, laughing about it. I don’t know what else they were doing but they're complete gits. Wanna help me get back at them?” 

“We’ve got some products we wanted to try out,” George said, pulling out a jar from his robe pocket.

“Oh, perfect brother! Guessing you wanna be left out of the picture, Harry?”

“Yep, I made a deal with McGonagall to learn about animagi from her. Gotta be squeaky clean until Christmas.”

“_Leave it to us._”

“Just give us names…” Fred said.

“And a time.” George finished.

“Let them stew in their fear for a little while… I gave them a scare earlier. Wait for their guard to drop... and then I'll handle the ringleader, you focus on the minions.”

“_Gotcha_.”

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

I convinced Luna to join me at the Slytherin table for dinner. The older students glared at me with venom as I lead the young Ravenclaw to the table, Flint seemingly tempted to get up to say something. On the other hand, Draco and the others treated this like when I brought over Hermione, with greetings and polite small talk. They got a little weirded out by Luna’s quirkiness, but she was an excellent room reader and kept to talking about Hogwarts related stuff after talking about her father.

“Do you have a favorite subject, Lovegood?” Blaise asked.

“Charms so far is the most interesting.” Luna blinked when everyone let out a collective groan.

“Please tutor Harry!” Pansy begged, her head slamming onto the table, avoiding her plate. “We love him dearly, but he is hopeless!”

“I am not hopeless! I’m doing better!” I protested defensively. “I did the summoning charm today!”

“Yes, he did well,” Luna said without a hint of sarcasm. I love this girl, everything that comes out of her mouth is wrapped in pure honesty. “They flew at us.”

Blaise paused. “How fast…?”

Luna looked up, eyes focusing on the floating candles that are made to mimic the night sky. “Similar to a bludger. He returned my missing shoes to me and it caused my housemates to scream. I found it rather intelligent to have them fly at that speed so the nargles couldn’t grab them.”

Luna’s response left everyone so dumbfounded that they didn’t know if they should laugh at my expense or question -for the 10th time- what a nargle was.

Pansy, after taking note of my face, decided to control the conversation.

“Oh, Harry darling~!” Pansy sang out. “Draco has been working really hard in quidditch!”

“Oh, is he now?” I look at the quiet blond skeptically, giving him the stink eye in the process. “Has he given you a new broom too to make you say that?”

“Harry, what is so wrong about my father buying the team new brooms? Don’t you want Slytherins to win this year?” Draco asked with a huff.

I start examining my nails. “Not if it’s through bribery and cheating. Last year you said you wanted to change the Quidditch team, I thought you were going to do that.” I gave Luna an apologetic look, but she shook her head in understanding. “You’re so talented on a broom, Draco. You could have easily made it as Seeker with how fast you caught the Snitch during tryouts.”

“Flint holds a grudge against me because you’re my best friend. He was going to pick that fourth year if I didn't bring out the brooms, talent or not." Draco rested his elbow on the table and cooly rested his cheek against his fist. "Besides… I need to build up a reputation if I'm going to take over the team."

I stared at him; blankly to be specific. My mind taking a sloth's pace to catch up with what Draco said. 

"So… you… did all that… without telling me?" I asked in a harsh whisper. Luna beside me let out a sigh, casually eating vegetables like it was supposed to be popcorn.

"Your reaction made it more genuine," Draco pointed out. I pause mid-stabbing of my food with my fork, staring him down with a look Mrs. Weasley uses on her sons.

"... It doesn't mean I'm happy, but you're right." I took a bite of some chicken, turning my nose away from him.

"You'll forgive me by Halloween," Draco confidently predicted, picking up a green apple and taking a hardy bite out of it, he turned his smirk to Luna. "He can never stay mad at me for long."

I swapped his pumpkin juice with my weekly matcha tea when he was distracted by Pansy.

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

Of course, Draco was right, I barely lasted the weekend after the argument. Now that Halloween was here it was like the argument had never happened. The most memorable thing to happen was that Colin somehow managed to get the pictures of me with my pets developed and I had to stuff the picture into my robes when Lockhart materialized to give me “tips on autographing”.

To spite him I signed Colin’s picture that he excitedly held out to me using my obnoxious peacock quill. All the while staring at this faker in the eyes. My signature ended up looking like it was written by a cast member at Disney Land.

I managed to avoid detention the whole month, but now that Halloween rolled in and I was sitting with the Slytherins my leg would not stop bouncing. I kept chewing on the same caramel sweets, waiting, listening for the telltale _hiss_ of the basilisk. But I heard nothing. 

Draco slammed a hand on my leg to make it stop bouncing, ow- my knee! “What has you so nervous? You barely ate breakfast and…” He paused, running a hand in my hair until it snagged on a knot. “You didn’t brush your hair this morning either.” 

Now Blaise and Pansy stopped their eating, finally noticing that my hair was no longer straight and smooth, but rather messy like our first year. 

"I just… have a bad feeling," I said nervously, keeping an ear out with false hope.

Maybe… maybe Hermione stole Voldemort’s diary already? Maybe there wouldn’t be a basilisk this year? Maybe things would be, dare I say it, normal?

_“Hungry… So very hungry…”_

‘Act natural Harry… eat more caramel. You like caramel. Caramel is ni- where is Hermione going?!’ I think an inhumane noise lodged into my throat when Hermione excused herself from the table. I followed suit, telling Draco and the others that I was going to the bathroom and casually walked out of the Great Hall. I thought someone was following us but I broke into a run the moment I was out of sight from the door.

_“Let me kill… let me rip open my prey…”_

'Nope. There is too much nope in this! If I had a dollar for every nope in this situation I could buy the school!' I slowed to a light jog when Hermione noticed I was following her. "Hey, Hermione!"

"Harry? Why are you following me?" Hermione raised an eyebrow. "And why is Luna with you?"

"Huh?" I look over my shoulder to see Luna strolling over. "Oh, I don't know why she's following… but um… if I'm going, to be honest.”

“Harry you’re always honest,” Hermione points out, her feet shifting uncomfortably.

“Walk and talk,” I say, motioning the girl to continue her brisk pace for the restrooms with Luna tagging along. Luna handed me a caramel which I begin to unwrap, more to give my hands something to do. “Thank you, Luna. I’m hearing a voice, it sounds feminine but really… hissy.”

Hermione gave me a weird look, but when she spotted the restroom she bolted right in. This was the most commonly used restroom on this floor and with the floor being dry, I began to suck on the caramel while Luna fancied a candied apple.

“I heard people who hear voices in their head is because a Star-Streaming Batternut enters the brain and coaxes their host to do acts of folk dancing. Have you felt the urge, Harry?” Luna asked suddenly, completely serious as she takes an alarmingly large bite out of her apple. 

“Wha- AHK!” I coughed violently away from Luna as a chunk of caramel decided it wanted to party in my esophagus.

The tap in the bathroom ran, “Harry, please stop choking!” I heard Hermione call out. She stepped out of the bathroom and carefully patted my back so I would stop sounding like I was about to keel over and die. “What were you saying before?”

_“Blood… I smell blood…”_

No, that’s just my blood pressure increasing.

“I..." I forced down a swallow, "I can explain in a moment. Come on, let’s just go back to the Great Hall… please.” The girls looked at each other and nodded. They began to follow closely behind me as I walked quickly down the stone hallway. My black leather shoes tapping against the floor in a pattern of security and safety.

_Tap tap tap_

_Tap tap tap_

_Tap tap- splish splash splish_

“I didn’t know Hogwarts invites mermaids for the Halloween feast…” Luna pondered as she walked across the wet flooring- wait… No… no, please. How can a massive snake move that unrealistically fast?! How long did Hermione spend in the bathroom?! Why are there no clocks in the hallways of Hogwarts?!

“Stay behind me.”

There were no questions asked, all they needed was my tone and my wand being pulled out. My pace increased, forcing the girls to rush after me with what I could only assume to be worried expressions. I kept my ears peeled for any slithering, any hissing, just any sound of movement and life besides three pairs of feet. We turn a corner and a trail of spiders scuttled out a window, their little legs sounding like a thousand bristles being run through and- uuuggghhhhh I don’t appreciate the sound! I reversed the spiders’ trail and…

_ **The Chamber of Secrets has been opened** _   
_ **enemies of the heir… beware** _

“That’s blood, isn’t it...?” Hermione whispered. She turned her head and covered her mouth with her hand. “Harry…”

“I see it, trust me. I see it.”

Mrs. Norris hung by her tail from a torch holder, still as stone and a terrified expression on her face. Multitudes of footsteps were heading in our direction, some voices talking about the water. Why was dinner dismissed the exact moment the three of us are by a bloodied message with a petrified cat?

Students of Hogwarts stopped when they saw the display. Draco read the message out loud, “‘Enemies of the heir beware’?” He glared at another Slytherin that made a comment about mudbloods and waved us over. “Get over here!”

“What’s going on here?” Filch shoves students out of the way to the opening. “Why is there wat-... Mrs. Norris…?”

Watching this old man’s face drain of any remaining color made me inhale heavily through my nose as my heart clenched. He didn’t look at us, nor did he spout out accusations that I murdered his cat. I doubt he would even think I would do that when I was possibly the first student that has been nice to Mrs. Norris since he’s begun to work there. No... He just stood there, biting his lower lip while his shoulders shook.

Draco, Neville, and Ron rushed over to the three of us just as Dumbledore and the other professors appeared on the scene. Neville quickly gathered Luna and returned to the hoard of students. She was just a first-year after all, no reason to get her involved in this mess.

Dumbledore assets the bloodied writing and the petrified cat while McGonagall began to check on Filch. “Prefects, please escort everyone to the dormitories… except for you two…” He nodded towards me and Hermione, “and Ms. Lovegood, if you would kindly return her, Mr. Longbottom.”

“Sir, please,” I licked my lips as I tried to collect my bearings. “Hermione and I can speak, Luna tagged along and doesn’t-” My pleading was cut off.

“I understand your need to protect your friends, Harry… but we need every witness present. Ah, thank you, Mr. Longbottom,” Dumbledore said kindly to the Gryffindor. “You, Mr. Malfoy, and Mr. Weasley may return to your dormitories. No arguments, Mr. Malfoy.”

Draco was facing Dumbledore and not me but I heard his jaw clench with a click.

Snape sent a sharp look our way and the three boys reluctantly began to walk, Neville had to be the mediator and physically drag the other two. I pushed Luna to stand behind me while Hermione remained rooted where she stood.

Dumbledore carefully examined Mrs. Norris without touching her. “She’s not dead, Argus. She’s merely petrified.”

“Oh! Such a shame,” Ugh… I forgot Lockhart was here. “It’s a shame I was not there, I could have performed the perfect countercurse to protect her!”

I saw that eye roll, McGonagall.

“It begs two questions…” Snape pointedly ignored Lockhart. “How she became petrified… and who?” He scanned the three of us, “I highly doubt two second-years and a first-year could cast a spell of such caliber. But it is suspicious that you three were out during the time of the attack…”

“Hermione needed to use the restroom and because of last year, I was scared she could get hurt again. Last year there was a troll and…” I stopped. Do I mention the hissing? If I do, I don’t want Lockhart around trying to create a load of unicorn feces as to why I am hearing a snake’s voice.

“And?” Snape pressed.

I stared at him dead in the eyes, then shifted my gaze to Lockhart. Snape followed my eyes and Lockhart was smiling at absolutely nothing with an “I’m writing my own theme song!” glow to his blue orbs. Snape’s already disgusted face became one of utter hidden loathing and didn’t press for more information, for now at least.

“We will be able to cure her, Argus. I believe Pomona is growing mandrakes this year and we will keep Mrs. Norris in the Hospital Wing while waiting for the plants to continue growing,” Dumbledore explained, eerily calm despite the fact that something just petrified a cat.

“Sir?” I asked, getting the adults’ attention, though Filch was collecting Mrs. Norris to take her to the hospital wing. “Sir, whatever petrified Mrs. Norris was able to flood the floor of the hallway and it spooked all of the spiders on this floor. A whole colony of them just scurried out of a window,” I look at the girls, “right?”

Hermione and Luna nodded in confirmation.

“Spiders don’t have emotions like us,” Hermione explained to the adults as if none of them knew about arachnids. “They are driven by instinct, and if their instincts told them to run, then it must be a threat.”

“Exactly,” I give Hermione a thumbs up, “Headmaster, shouldn’t Hogwarts be closed then?”

“Mr. Potter.” McGonagall’s tone was a warning.

“I’m afraid that would be unreasonable, Harry. The year has barely started and sending students home would cause an unwanted panic. However, we will be increasing security measures to ensure this doesn’t happen to anyone.”

“You better spread out the school’s portraits all over the hallways to keep watch, especially by water sources. Find out how to petrify someone and use that to find a list of suspects.” I point at the words on the wall, heart pounding in both fear and frustration that this old man refuses to see the risks at stake. “Whoever wrote this message most likely means harm. Figure out which students fall under the category of enemies of this ‘heir’ and make it so they are never alone. If someone gets hurt, it is on. your. _h__ead_.”

A light of clarity washed through those half-moon spectacles and Dumbledore seemed to be looking at me from a different angle. His head, while subtle, moved in the faintest nod and began to walk off, I presume, to his office.

“Well,” Lockhart clapped and rubbed his hands together, “I’ll escort young Harry back to his common room, we have much to discuss regarding future installments in my class!”

I. need. an. _ADULT_!

“_I_ will be the one to escort Mr. Potter back as I am his Head of House.” Snape glared Lockhart down, daring the blond idiot to have the gall to argue with the overgrown bat that knew how to poison a drink and make it taste like lemonade. “Minerva can escort Ms. Granger, you can escort Ms. Lovegood.”

Forget me needing an adult!

I glanced at Luna and she had a perfectly neutral face. She seemed to neither care that Lockhart was going to be the “responsible adult” to guide her, nor excited that a “handsome celebrity” was her guide. Well… I doubt Lockhart would be dumb enough to do anything… if he is that kind of person. Not to mention the path to the Ravenclaw dorms were riddled with a multitude of pictures and sentient objects. She’ll be okay. I’m sure she could do more to him than he could ever do to her. The man can’t even cast a curse right.

I give both girls tight hugs and we all go our separate ways. Snape leading me to the dorms, muttering under his breath about how he keeps having to escort the same student back and why couldn’t said student just stay out of trouble. I took this time to blurt out my internal thoughts.

“I heard a hissing voice before we found Mrs. Norris… before Hermione left the Great Hall, that’s why I followed her.”

Snape stops walking, grabs my arm harshly then pulls me aside. “What?”

“Ow…” I rubbed my arm. “It was this… hiss, saying it was hungry and wanted to kill. It sounded like,” I broke into Parseltongue, “_Blood… I smell blood… kill… I must kill…_” I returned to English but kept my expression confused, so to Snape, it looked as if I didn’t even know I was speaking another language. “And so I followed Hermione, and the hissing wouldn’t stop, so I told the girls to stay behind me, then we saw the spiders, the water, the message, and Mrs. Norris. I’ve only heard something similar when I was at the zoo and a boa constrictor talked to me… Professor?”

Snape was ghost white, sheer terror adorned his face. His black eyes flickered to my scar, hidden behind my bangs as usual, and his left hand clenched tightly.

“Who else knows…?”

“I only told Hermione and Luna,” I answered, heart drumming through my chest again as realization dawned on me. I fancied the idea as a joke, but now that it's a reality...

I’m going to have to kill a giant snake… with a sword. If I’m not careful, people are going to get petrified. Hermione is going to get petrified. Someone may die if I change things too dramatically. I don’t have Tom Riddle’s diary yet! Dumbledore refuses to close the school and let the professionals handle this; instead I, a twelve-year-old who barely reaches Snape’s chest and can’t even cast a Patronus yet… is going to have to kill a sixty-foot-long serpent with killing eyes. It's either I do that, or reveal the fact that I know way more than I should!

Totally not stressing out. Nope, nada. I am _completely_ calm!

“Good… keep this information between the three of you for now… I will need to inform the Headmaster.” Snape’s soft voice cut me out of my inner monologuing, color refusing to return to his face. He reached out, and instead of a harsh pull of my arm, I found a hand placed on my shoulder and I’m carefully guided back to the Slytherin common room. But before I could open the door, Snape turned me to face him as he had bent to reach my height. "Calm down. It would bring unnecessary stress to your friends if you continue to hyperventilate."

I stared at Snape, my breathing getting louder and louder until I feel a hiccup coming. "I-I'm sorry, I just... Dumbledore- he's not... he's not _listening_!"

"There is nothing to gain from apologizing for having emotions." Snape softly said, patiently waiting for me to stop freaking out. "Trust the Headmaster's decision, for now at the very least."

"But what if it's like last year where I have to be the one to fix what he did not?!" Frankly, I'd rather not kill the basilisk. Get some of it's fangs? Absolutely, they can be used for the Horcruxes. But can't we just... blow up the chamber? Do I really have to stab the basilisk with a sword? "No one here is listening! Things aren't safe, do I have to play some part just to get Dumbledore to understand?"

Suddenly, there were hands on my shoulders.

"Listen to me, Potter." Snape gave me a hard shake, leaving me staring at him in shock. "You do not do anything reckless. If things come to a point where you feel like you must run into danger, you do not follow those feelings. You come straight to me."

I blinked several times, a tear running down my face which I quickly wipe away. My head nodded on its own and my breathing began to slow down enough. Satisfied, Snape allowed me to enter the common room. Without looking back, I ran for the dorms.

Before Draco could ask questions I rush at him with a hug. I just want it to be my third year already. I want Lupin, and I want Sirius to break out of prison already. Can’t I just reveal Pettigrew to Sirius now and him break out? Dementors are immune to basilisks, right?

“Do you want to sleep in my bed tonight?” Draco asked with an unsure tone. When I nodded, he had me release him so I could get ready and when I returned, Draco had already prepared our “No Cuddle” zone and was sleeping on the side farthest from my bed.

“Thanks…” I climbed under the covers and hid mostly under the blanket.

“I’m not about to let you have nightmares just for my own pride. Not a word Zabini!” Draco snapped at our roommate. I let out a giggle, stress exiting my body as safety replaced its place inside me.

“Whatever you say Malfoy…” A long, sleepy yawn came from Blaise. “I wonder how much money I can make if I borrow that Muggleborn’s camera…”

I think Draco threw a book at Blaise before the room finally went quiet with sleep.

…

…

Wait, why would he need a camera?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Luna is one of my favorite characters in the entire series and I can not wait to develop her in this story. Learning about her character when I was in middle school helped me see that it was fine to be quirky and weird; this was especially important because I had zero self-confidence and was often bullied by "popular" kids. She helped me learn that those that are important to me won't mind if I'm weird, and if someone does mind, then they weren't worth my time of day. So yeah, if you start to notice Luna getting extra screen time in later books, this is why. Also, I'm going to be making up creatures as I go along since I can't find much information about Luna's actual creatures on the internet.
> 
> Was there a book, movie, TV character that left a strong impact on you? Feel free to share your experiences if you drop a comment.
> 
> Oh, and the Chamber of Secrets still opened, that was a thing. Harry can never have a normal Halloween, can he? Why does all of the weird stuff happen on Halloween of all days?


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry makes plans for the future while his friends learn a new fact about their unusual Slytherin.

Everyone was talking about the writing on the wall. It’s been almost a week and it still remained and none of the teachers have been able to remove it. I think at one point, a group of Ravenclaws tried an experiment to see if muggle cleaning products -sent by their parents- would clean it... well, on the bright side that hallway smells like lemons and lavender now. I’ve watched many students lead their Muggle-born friends away from that path, fearing that the attacker will appear in that spot again.

I couldn't care less about some bloodied wall.

As I made my way through the second floor of Hogwarts to meet up with Neville to study Herbology, I heard crying coming from the girl’s bathroom. It was high-pitched and hiccupy with this faint tone of pure _fakeness_, like crocodile tears from a child pretending a scrape. It felt so fake that it almost seemed genuine.

I went to the bathroom door and knocked. “You alright in there?” No response, the weeping persisted. I checked both ways in the hall to make sure McGonagall wasn’t present and poked my head in the bathroom. “Hello?”

Oh, it’s _that_ bathroom. Shoot.

Sitting atop the sinks that stand in the center of the bathroom was Moaning Myrtle. She hiccuped and looked at me with a tilt of her head, causing her pigtails to fall to the side. I entered the bathroom, closing it behind me and waited for her to speak first.

Myrtle didn’t seem to appreciate my silence. “Come to laugh at me, are you?!” She jumped off the sink and floated through the air. “Everyone always does. Laughs at me and then throws objects at my face!”

“Why would I do that?” I asked curiously. To be fair, if I was going to chuck something at someone's face, it'd be someone who I could actually hit.

“Because that’s what everyone thinks is _fun_!” Myrtle shrieked in anguish, doing a loop in the air.

I slowly walked to the sinks, arms folded behind my back. “I don’t think that’s fun. Sounds like bullying to me. If they have time to bully then they have no excuse for having bad grades if they have that much free time.”

Myrtle went quiet.

“Some mates and I like to prank people and it's pretty fun when done on bullies. It gives everyone a good laugh and teaches the bullies what it feels like to be humiliated…” I eye Myrtle. “My name’s Harry. Harry Potter.”

“Everyone,” Myrtle sniffs, “Everyone just calls me Moaning Myrtle…”

“Well, nice to meet you Myrtle.” She looked genuinely surprised that I would say that. “Would it be alright if I asked you a question?”

She sniffed, doing that fidgeting thing where girls twist their bodies back and forth.

“Go on.” Myrtle floated around, fidgeting with her robes.

“How did you die?” I asked, slowly walking around the bathroom while keeping an eye on her. I spotted the sink with the snakes engraved on it. Seriously, how did someone install this sink when modern plumbing wasn’t commonly used for hundreds of years? Also, who the bloody hell put a snake on the faucet? Tom? One of the sane Gaunts?

“Oh! I love telling that story!” Myrtle mused grimly, floating over to hover by my side as I walked. “It was dreadful…”

Well, that’s an oxymoron if I ever heard one.

“I was crying, in this bathroom because Oliver Hornby was teasing me about my glasses… when I heard someone talking… more like hissing in the bathroom. I opened the cubicle door to tell them to go away! When… I died…” Myrtle wails softly, shaking her head. “My last memory was two large yellow eyes by the sink before I was floating in the air.”

“That’s horrible…” I rubbed my arm, which felt like it was dunked into ice when Myrtle brushed passed me. “Maybe… I could figure out the secret behind your death.”

“Oh? How so?” She asked, tilting her head.

“The Chamber of Secrets has been opened, supposedly. But no one knows what’s in it, or what it can do. You might have given me clues in learning what it might be!” I turned around to fully face the ghost girl, looking at her with my best grin. “Thank you, Myrtle!”

“You… actually care…”

“Of course I care! Just because someone is different than you doesn’t give them the right to bully you. That Oliver guy should have been ashamed for bullying you! You wouldn’t be a ghost if he had just kept his mouth shut.”

Myrtle froze, her eyes widening and then she covered her face. A hiccup started the onslaught of bawling that came from her eyes. She cried and sobbed, floating into a toilet, causing water to splash everywhere.

‘Did I… say something wrong? How do you talk to someone who has the sensitivity of a minefield? When was the last time I talked to someone like that actually...?’ I questioned myself, awkwardly leaving the bathroom to resume my walk to Neville. Every time my mind wondered back to Myrtle, I would shake my head to block the thoughts. 

The walk to the study location was filled with weird looks and whispers that nearly resulted in a migraine from how often I rolled my eyes. It was always the same. People were thinking I was the one to write the blood because I’m Slytherin and with Halloween supposedly being the day I must be upset during… well, people think I’m playing a prank. That… involves petrifying Mrs. Norris… even though I… like… animals?

Okay, where are Fred and George when I need to turn everyone’s skin purple?

The study place was outside the castle, by a tree near the Great Lake where we could study in private but also not be restricted by our voice's volume. Despite the view of the water being stunning with healthy water that sparkled against the black surface, the weather was horrendous. With November kicking into high gear, the sky was two shades too depressingly grey. The air was rich with soil and fallen leaves, clearing student’s lungs of the dusty atmosphere of many Hogwarts’ classrooms, no doubt removing the risk of Bronchitis. But at the same time, the grey sky drained their energy as the sun has long forgotten Scotland and has moved to Hawaii. Truly a testimony for why many older students walk the grounds with dulling eyes and sluggish steps.

By the tree, Neville was sitting on some grass that was spell-dried, book in his lap.

“Hey Neville, sorry for being late- oh, Ginny! Hello!” I smiled cheerfully at the exhausted Gryffindor trying to work on an essay and not fall asleep on the spot. She weakly waved, but her eyes drooped half-closed and a whine escaped her throat.

“Hello, Harry,” Neville greeted, motioning to another dry spot. “I hope you don’t mind me inviting Ginny, her brothers are giving her a hard time.”

“Not at all, the more the merrier.” I plopped down next to Neville, resting my elbow on my leg and pulling out my Herbology book. “How has Hogwarts been for you, Ginny?”

Ginny didn’t respond, staring blankly at her essay, quill dripping ink on parchment without a care to give. I bit my lip, exchanging looks with Neville. Poor kid, she's dealing with way more rubbish than she deserves. I'm almost tempted to find and bribe one of her dormmates to get the diary for me. Where is Ginny hiding that book?

“Ginny?”

The girl jumped, ink flicking Neville and me in the face from her hand movements. Ginny blinked several times then turned bright red, covering her face with her hands and getting ink on her own face, but she was looking at us in horror. “I’m so sorry! I-I don’t know what I’m doing! I've just-... just...!”

“Ginny? Honey? Sweetheart? Hun?” I raise a hand to stop her, but she began to squirm every time I used a nickname. “It’s alright, it’s just a little ink. It’ll come right off with a spell.”

“Exactly! _Scourgify_.” Neville waved his wand and the ink disappears with a little sparkle effect. “Nothing that a little magic can’t fix.”

“I was going to use that spell…” My lower lip poked out in a pout but then I broke into a wide, toothy grin. “Brilliant spell though, Neville. Good to see you’ve been practicing! We don’t learn that charm in class for some time too.”

Neville shrunk shyly and gave a smile.

“I-I’m sorry…” Ginny repeated and rubbed her eyes after setting down her quill. With a soft groan, she leaned forward, covering her entire face in her hands. “I’ve just been so tired lately talking to Tom-”

“Tom? Sorry to interrupt but...” Neville asked out loud, looking at me. “Is there a Tom in the first years?”

“How am I supposed to know? I wasn’t at the sorting, remember?” I glance at Ginny, who looked to be several shades more paler, making her bright red hair and bright cheeks stand out even more. “Ginny, who are you talking to? I've never seen you eat with anyone besides Hermione and your brothers.”

“It’s nothing, really. He- he’s just a friend who’s been listening to my problems.” Ginny attempted to reassure us, but a swift once-over from Neville and I gave the indication that neither of us believed these bold-faced lies. Her eyes shifted between the two of us uncomfortably, tucking her limbs closer to herself. “I-...”

“Ginny, if you are having problems, why not talk to one of us? We'll list-” Ginny shot up to her feet and gathered her stuff while I tried to talk. She ran off without another word. "Ginny!”

“Should we tell her brothers?” Neville asked, watching Ginny become smaller and smaller with distance. “If she’s having sleep problems because of this ‘Tom’ then maybe her family can fix this…”

“No… Tell Hermione and Luna when you see them. Trust me, boys are the last people will Ginny wants to hear advice from. Could you also remind Hermione that I asked her to collect something for me?” I requested vaguely.

“Sure…” Neville said confused, slowly opening his mouth then suddenly clamping it shut then shaking his head, causing his dark hair to swing with the motion. “… Um… Harry? You listed off too many properties in your essay.”

“Shoot! Thanks, Neville.” I fixed my mistake and we continued working. We worked off each other’s work smoothly, I corrected grammar while he was the king of spelling. There wasn’t any way to tell time, but I finally stretched my body after what felt like an hour. I rested my cheek against my fist as I thought. 

And thought...

And thought some more…

My spine straightened with a pop. “I need to go see Lockhart. Neville, don’t turn your head like that, you’ll break your neck.”

“Break my…? Nevermind that, are you okay, Harry?” Neville scootched closer, about to reach for my forehead. His hand didn't feel much different from the air outside, but even so he checked my forehead and cheeks. “You're not warm... When did you start showing interest in Professor Lockhart?”

“Oh… you know… Life likes to change! It's like the air, you never breathe the same thing twice. Always search for new things with each breath!” I chirped, stuffing my supplies into the bottomless abyss known as my bag. I then waved to my friend while I walked. “See you later, Neville!”

I walked with a skip in my step towards the castle grounds, actually skipping once I reached the stone flooring and humming Let's Go Fly a Kite from Mary Poppins. Going up a set of stairs I watched Neville bolting down a hallway a floor below. Not that jogging type run. I mean he looks like he is participating in the international Summer Olympics while Micheal Myers was chasing him down with a knife.

Odd image to create, brain, but to each their own.

Shrugging I went into the DADA classroom, noting that it was empty but Lockhart’s office door was ajar.

Going up the slightly curved stairs, I knocked on the door. “Professor Lockhart? It’s Harry.” I got an immediate response.

“Harry! Come in my boy!” I was greeted with Lockhart sitting at his office desk with a large grin, waving me over. “Come, come! Have a seat! It’s unusual for you to visit.”

I slowly entered the room, fiddling with the hem of my robe sleeve and examining his office. Many portraits of himself hung on the walls and stacks upon stacks of letters sat neatly by his desk. There was also hair products on a nearby shelf, with a floral incense burning and filling the room with its aroma. Colors were everywhere, contrasting the typical drab decor of Hogwarts outside of the Common Rooms.

I sat down in the chair across from his desk. Plush and comfy. My butt actually sank in it a little and caused my feet to hover off the ground by a few centimeters.

“Um… I came to apologize, sir.” I bowed my head politely.

“Oh? Really?” Lockhart blinked several times and craned his neck to look around the room. “Whatever for?”

I straighten up. “Last year… when we had Quirrell for a professor... well, he had You-Know-Who attached to the back of his head. And ever since then I’ve had difficulties trusting… um… other professors.” I paused and waited for Lockhart to nod, his eyes shining like his teeth. “It just never occurred to me that you have been so… so knowledgeable! You truly have experiences worthy of being a professor here at this school and you are generous enough to share your experiences with us. So… I apologize for my attitude these last few months.”

“Nothing to forgive, Harry! We celebrities have to stick together, with so few of us existing today and you being a child…” Lockhart shrugged with a chuckle. “It is my pleasure to be your mentor.”

“But Professor, that’s the thing I’m concerned about!” I clasp my hands together, resting my chin under the pointer and middle fingers. “You teach us these amazing stories, but you never display the spells you use! In fact, we rarely have the chance to use magic in realistic situations!”

Lockhart licked his lips and leaned back in his chair, making a popping sound with his lips as he thought. “Yes, I suppose that is a problem when you put it in that sense.”

“Right,” I agreed. “Which is why I was hoping you may have a way for us to learn more spells and how to use them! Like a club… like… like a fighting type club or…”

“A dueling club?” Lockhart supplied with confidence.

“Exactly that! Why didn’t I think of that?” I asked, clapping my hands in delight. “Could you possibly create a dueling club? I’m sure this would help us learn more about spells and also ease everyone’s minds with the writing on the wall.”

Lockhart nodded, looking off to the side while thinking about this. "Indeed, it's a shame you children have to walk the halls in fear of some monster. I think this is a perfect id-" We both jumped when the door to his classroom -which is heavy, I might add- was thrown open with a loud _BAM_!

“Harry?! You here mate?!” Ron’s voice echoed through the room. "Harry?"

“Looks like I have people waiting for me! I look forward to joining the Dueling Club, Professor.” Sliding off the chair so I didn't fall, I left the room and gently closed the door. 

Ron was at the base of the stairs, eyes wide and a bead of sweat forming on his forehead. He reminded me of an animal caught in a corner. The ginger rushed to me and scanned me over. He then stretched his neck at the door, as if to confirm something, then began to shove me out of the room. He didn't bother closing the classroom door, instead making me turn a corner before speaking.

“Neville came rushing at me, blabbering about how you were going to kill someone! I've never seen the bloke so scared before! He said you were speaking all poetic or something!” Ron exclaimed, earning many confused looks from nearby students. He looked at my face and body language. My polite smile, the twinkle in my eyes, and the straight posture of my spine and shoulders. He shrunk ever-so-slightly with a slight quiver in his voice. “Y-you... didn’t kill anyone, right?”

A pause. I stopped walking and stood there frozen in place, with my polite smile plastered but not quite reaching my eyes. All was right in the world at that moment. The birds that remained sang their songs. Leaves rustled in the trees that refused to give them up. And the best of them all, students chattered about this and that and everything in-between. All of the reasons to smile were still there for me to enjoy.

Then…

That smile dropped. _Hard_.

“_Yes_…” I hissed, not in Parseltongue, but a growl that rattled my throat into a harsh croak. “Now get me away from here before I change my mind. Please.”

Ron lead me away, sending me the occasional worried look and I tug on my dark hair to smell it. I let out another growl as I glared at the offending locks. “I smell like a thousand flowers in a meadow designed by God on the night he created wine...” The Weasley gave me a perplexed look. I gathered up a chunk of my robes and sniffed. “My clothes too! GRAH! I was only in there for a bloody minute!” I shouted in anger, violently trying to rip off the article with the everlasting temptation to just go naked for the day because I caught a whiff of my shirt.

The smell is everywhere!

Ron raised his hands in a “calm down” manner and took a step away from me. “Why did you go to Lockhart’s office? I thought you hated him?”

“Oh… _I do hate him_, Ron. But it was a necessary evil.” I forced my hair away from my face, aggressively pulling my bangs back, which left my scar in full display. Ron paled. “He’s not teaching us spells, so I wanted to… persuade him to demonstrate some of his better battling strategies.”

“You’re scary, mate…” Ron muttered, not trying to hide the fact that I could hear it. “Let’s get you to a bathroom so you can get rid of the smell. I’ll ask one of the Slytherins to bring you a new set of robes... and clothes.”

“Please, I would greatly appreciate that.”

After I was left to do my pampering and was dressed in a fresh set of clothes, my friends desperately tried to keep a minimum of three feet away from me for the rest of the weekend. Hermione and Luna were the only ones to not pay any mind to my permanent glare; one that damned everything that existed. In fact, Hermione took some of my hair and sniffed it after we spent fifteen minutes using each others’ backs as pillows.

“Harry, are you using a new shampoo? You smell like lilacs. It's nice, what brand is it- Harry?”

I was in a shower for the next half hour. Draco had to be the one brave enough to tell me to get out after I ignored Hermione's plea to calm down. No one has made a comment since. Except Blaise.

"I think we can all agree to never give Harry anything that smell like flowers." I think this was the first time I saw my friends unanimously agree on something.

The following Monday, posters appeared throughout the school advertising a Dueling Club. The first meeting was to happen the week after the first Quidditch match of the school year.

“Draco, if you summon a snake during a duel I will hang you by your thumbs over the Astronomy tower and leave you there during a blizzard,” I stated casually during lunch.

“Noted…?” Draco said with a high pitched, questioning tone. "Is there something I should know...?"

"You learned that spell last month and I don't want someone getting bitten, that's all."

Draco didn't question it, just resumed the eating of his green apple.

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

**Side story #2: Room of Requirement**

I paused mid-bite of a beautifully crafted Belgian waffle when a sudden thought occurred to me.

I haven’t found the Room of Requirement yet. Huh... weird. I should have found that ages ago.

“I’m going to go for a stroll,” I say to my friends, grabbing my cup of tea and downing the warm liquid so no one would be suspicious. I never leave the table unless my tea is done or something is really wrong. Draco gives a non-commital grunt as he is enjoying his toast with jam and the others wave me goodbye as everyone is enjoying their breakfast. Blaise was hogging the syrup much to a nearby Daphne's protest.

Hey, it’s waffle day. You don’t skip waffle day unless you’re allergic to… I dunno, gluten?

I manage to get to the seventh floor of the school before I began to pace aimlessly around the halls. I have no recollection of where this room is supposed to be. Everything about the room was fuzzy at best, with only snippets remaining in my mind. The hallway was pretty much barren, both because breakfast was still in session and also because there wasn’t anything interesting on this floor. Hogwarts has many floors and unless you need a secluded place to snog, more interesting stuff seems to happen on the first three floors and the main castle grounds.

I stopped when I spotted possibly the _weirdest_ painting I have ever seen in my short life. A wizard in medieval puff pants, trying to teach trolls wearing tutus the ballet. I stood there, staring at this bizarre creation, wondering what was snorted to even put this concept on a canvas. Eventually, I managed to turn around and face the blank wall. You know, if I was the person who built this castle, I’d hide a hidden corridor of untold magic right by the ultimate distraction that is a weird as hell painting.

So I began to pace. Back and forth three times while chanting in my head what it is I wanted the room to become.

‘I need a place to distract my mind. I need a place that will keep me busy and away from everyone else.’

At the third pace, a door materialized on the empty wall. I paused for a moment then went over and opened the door… and immediately felt the urge to go to a muggle store and buy a thousand plastic storage bins and just as many sharpies. 

The Room of Requirements decided that I wanted the room that has _all_ of the stuff in it. Furniture with attitude problems, skeletons of unknown creatures locked away in what was once their cages, and enough jewelry to make a Conquistador cry. Well… if no one was going to claim this stuff, might as well see what’s in here. 

Walking around the room, I always made sure to use a small stinging jinx to see if what I was about to touch would move or attack me. So much history was cram-packed in this seemingly endless room and I had my fair share of sneezes from the collected dust that was probably older than my grandparents’ grandparents. I tried to keep track of time, using a pocket watch I found that was still working and nabbed a few books that caught my attention, plus some old library books to earn some brownie points with Madam Pince. I was also pleasantly surprised to discover that the books had no musty or moldy smells to them.

I took a moment to examine a trunk full of jewelry. I carefully poked around using a broken chair leg just in case that something in here might be cursed. I swear I heard a ruby necklace hiss at me. I immediately picked it up using the chair leg and flung it across the room.

I examined the jewelry, most of it was caked with dust but the stones were authentic and no doubt priceless. I closed the trunk, leaving a Greek bust with a missing ear on top of it as a place marker for later. The girls might like what's in here during the Yule ball.

I stopped my exploring when I passed a stuffed troll and looked up at the ceiling-high stacks of stuff. "Should I...? Nah."

With a sharp turn, I exited the room. On one hand, I could, in theory, find the diadem but I have nothing to destroy it and Horcruxes makes everyone cranky. 

If it’s not in my memory, no one can take it. Voldemort is bound to return soon, even if I manage to get rid of Pettigrew for good there were other Death Eaters that would revive him. I want Voldemort to feel it when I stab the diadem with Gryffindor’s sword.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo... a little fact about me... I am very particular about smells and the smells that end up in my personal space. Not many things bother my senses, but if I catch a whiff of certain floral smells (like from a candle) in my room and I'm not able to remove or replace the smell I end up breaking down or get extremely frustrated. I don't know why, they just trigger something in me. Never bothers me when I'm in someone's house or in shops, but heaven help the earth if I catch that on me or my room.
> 
> Totally fine with baked goods and fruit smells though. Just wanted to explain why Harry lost his marbles over smelling like lilacs and other flowers. It's like when you think about something that bothers you, and then it just doesn't leave.
> 
> Also, it was so hard writing Harry as Mr.Happy, I wanted it to sound chipper that it sounded fake and I think I got the message across.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry encounters a near-death experience and everyone is mad at Lockhart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Harry gets hurt in this chapter and it's gonna be nasty. I use plot elements to limit description but be prepared for talks of blood, bone, and pain. 
> 
> ALSO WARNING: Implied sexual content courtesy of Harry's exhausted brain and wanting to write. You'll see.

A shiver ran up my spine. The sky was a soft silver and winds leisurely moved the clouds along, brushing against unsuspecting students who dared sit on the stadium's seats. If there wasn’t any wind things would be fine, rain wasn’t predicted in the papers. Honestly though, why did it decide to be the coldest day of November on the same day that I decide to watch a Quidditch match?!

I proceed to huddle next to Pansy for warmth. “Remind me again, why am I out here in the cold? I don’t even like Quidditch.” She laughed and in turn, I turned more into a penguin to sap out as much warmth as possible. I wonder where Hermione and Ron were? I look at the Gryffindor section, but there was too much red to pick them out among the sea of scarlet.

The teams get into position and I take the split second of sacrificing warmth to wave at Draco, who nods at me with his smug, Slytherin prat smirk. My eyes roll to the back of my head when I noticed that Flint was glaring daggers at me. Okay, hotshot, I know you’re trying to tap deep into your gargoyle roots but if you keep that up your face will freeze. Then again, that might be an improvement.

The teams got on their brooms, and with the throwing of the Quaffle, the game has begun.

The Slytherins were zipping through the court on their new brooms. The Chasers slammed into Gryffindor’s Chasers, taking the Quaffle and then fly at neck-breaking speeds towards the goals to collect their points. The game had gone for less than five minutes and Slytherin has already scored four times.

“Another goal scored by Slytherins, who have an unfair advantage with their new Nimbus 2001 and are taking every chance they get-”

“JORDAN!”

Make that five times.

I lean forward to observe the match. Sports is not my thing, but I love strategy and organization, so this was a good subsitute. As much as I hate to admit it… Slytherin’s team just seems more disciplined. The Chasers are separated only by the length of which a player can throw while the Beaters remain a minimum of 3 meters in-between the Chasers, giving a very thin star formation. A Bludger came near Flint and one of the Beaters caught sight of it, hit the ball and then return to their position; said Bludger barely missed Angelina Johnson by a few inches. Draco is circling the stadium at a snail's pace, eyes shifting around the area while looking for the Snitch but seems to be sticking within range of a Beater at all times.

On the opposite end of the spectrum... was the Gryffindors.

Each individual had their own talents with the broom. Katie Bell always seems to know when to fly low to get the Quaffle and the twins are marvelous at playing hot potato with the Bludger. But as a team they’re disorganized. Whenever Katie got the Quaffle, Angelina and Alicia were several meters away, usually distracted by one of the Slytherin Chasers and would always get the ball taken from her when she tried to throw it. Rotate the girls’ names around and you get similar results. They’re too spread out and their Seeker remained stationary, which is the only tactic I give is better than the Slytherins as it gives Fred and George the ability to protect him.

Add in the factor that their brooms are just inherently slower than the Slytherins and it’s just an imbalanced game. Why does the school not regulate and supply the brooms for the games so it’s even and based on talent and skills through adaptation? Hogwarts certainly has enough money.

Draco flew past our area and waved at us with a cheeky grin. He looked so proud that he gets to be a part of the team and show off his skills for the whole school to see. He slammed on the metaphorical breaks when a Bludger zoomed passed him and stopped suddenly hovering in the air as delicately as a bubble on stagnant air. 

Oh no...

“It appears one of the Bludgers has decided to have a lunch break!” Jordan joked through his mic, causing several people in both the stands and in fields to look. The magical cannonball stayed motionless, not bothered by the Beaters heading it’s way to do their namesake and beat the ball away.

Noooooo, please no.

Then, the Bludger turned 45 degrees. If it had a face, it would be looking straight at me.

_Oh, ship._

I immediately shoved Pansy away, making her crash into Blaise and slid under the benches just as the bludger came speeding towards me. It smashed the seat I was sitting on into a thousand splinters and proceeded to make woodchips out of the pillar behind it. I managed to catch one of the large wooden beams so I didn’t immediately break my legs upon getting to the ground and started quickly descending the beams as the Bludger made a loop to go down. It was fast and the wood barely slowed it down as I rushed out onto the field. Pulling out my wand I was shouting hexes at the stupid thing, which only seemed to _pling_ off the metal and hit nearby students.

“Potter is on the field! I repeat: Potter is on the field and he has a Bulger hot on his heels! I’d bet my position as spokesperson that someone hexed the ball to chase after the Slytherin-”

“JORDAN!” I heard McGonagall interrupting Jordan.

“I didn’t say any names, Professor, just saying what I’m seeing.”

Fred flew over and smacked the Bludger just before it could hit me, George not far behind him. “Fancy a lift, Harry?”

“You look like you could use some rescuing!” George piped up.

Someone flew behind me and started tugging on my arm. I look over my shoulder to see Draco trying, rather aggressively, to get my butt on his boom. “Get on before that thing kills you!”

“You know I hate flying!” I screeched, yelping when George hits the Bludger as it nearly hit my face. “Oh… _Fine_!” 

I hopped onto the broom, wrapping my arms around Draco’s middle and promptly closed my eyes so I didn’t have to think about the fact that my feet were off the ground. I tucked my legs close to the broom, whimpering as I felt us gain altitude, the broom shaking as Draco regained his balance.

“I’m going after the Snitch, you two can do what you want! I’m faster than that thing even with Harry’s added weight!” Draco shouted over to the twins.

“Easy,” George started.

“Since the Slytherins haven’t helped,” Fred continued.

_“We’ll focus on the Bludger!”_ They finished together.

“Right, keep that thing off us!” Draco said to the twins. Then to me, “Just make like a damsel and hold on tight!”

“I am going to pretend I did not hear you say that!” 

Draco makes a sharp turn to chase the Snitch which had finally shown itself. “Well, you are one right now! Why a Bludger is after you is beyond me!”

“Does that mean I have to kiss you when you’re finished rescuing me?!” I retorted through a shriek when Draco lowered his broom suddenly. “Because that’s what it means to be a damsel, Draco! Or did you not read books when you were little?!”

“I-... Um… Shut up!” I feel Draco’s shoulder shift as he reached out for something and the stadium goes bonkers.

“Draco Malfoy has captured the snitch! Slytherin wins the first game of the year despite having the disadvantage of keeping Potter’s head on his shoulder because everything seems to want to kill him-” Jordan was, once again, scolded by McGonagall.

“Wow, I think you helped add speed to the broom, Harry,” Draco said, slowly descending the broom. “We’ll be on the ground in a moment and the professors are heading over to deal with the Bludger. I just saw Hermione making her way over too.”

“Great!” I squeaked, risking a peek at the ground and noting that I could jump from this height. “I’ll just…” I carefully swing one of my legs over so I’m side-saddling the broom, “jump from here and get to the ground fas-”

“_WATCH OUT!_” The twins shouted from above.

“-ter…”

Something large, fast, and metallic slammed into the side of my right calf and I lose my balance, falling off the broom. Someone shouted and instead of falling headfirst onto the ground, I floated down, being settled onto my back where the only thing I could hear was high-pitched ringing and my rapid heartbeat. My eyes remained open, and that cursed ball of iron was flying directly down towards me when Hermione pointed her wand at it. I saw her lips move and the bludger was stunned long enough for the twins to grab it. 

I laid there in a daze, trying to get my bearings when I began to notice a pattern with each person getting close to me. They would look at me, their eyes shift down to my legs, then wince. Why were they wincing? What was wrong with my legs-...

Why can’t I feel one of my legs?

Sound slowly returned to my ears and people are speaking chaotically, several calling for Pomfrey, most are telling me to not move. I did the one thing you should never do in a situation where you can’t feel anything on a spot on your body: I looked.

The calf of my right leg is bent at an awkward angle towards my left leg. My foot -still attached thankfully- was lying limply on the grassy flooring of the Quidditch stadium, in which the grass was slowly turning a crimson color. This was honestly the least worrisome part about the whole ordeal.

No, what I’m focusing on right now is I can see my tibia sticking out my leg like it thinks it’s a ribeye steak!

‘Breathe… breathe, Harry… it does not hurt… it DOES. NOT. HURT! It does not- _IT HURTS! IT HURTS A LOT!_’

My eyes screwed shut and a scream ripped out of my throat. Why did my leg break?! Why did it have to break like _that_?! What the hell was Dobby thinking when he hexed that stupid thing?! Why does this hurt so much?!

“Harry? Harry!” Someone sandwiched my face between their hands and I opened my eyes to have Draco staring me down. “Come on, Hagrid is on his way to take you to Pomfrey. Just focus on us and breathe.” Hermione’s head popped up next to Draco’s.

I’m breathing. Heavily, but it still counts. I’m nodding my head, with one hand holding Draco’s arm in a vice grip while the other hand is pressing down on my upper portion of my right leg as if that would tend to the pain. Breathe and nod, that’s all you need to do right now Harry… just breathe and nod…

“Stand aside, I’ll take care of this!”

And panic!

My breathing increased as I caught sight of Lockhart swaggering over and pulling out his wand.

“Professor, we have Harry stable, please stay away! He's going to panic!” Hermione tried reasoning with the idiot while also trying to figure out a way to calm my breathing.

"I'm 'ere," Hagrid's voice rang out like a saint. "Move alon', professor. Harry needs ter see a medic."

“Nonsense! I’m positive I can fix the damage!” Lockhart reassured Hermione and Hagrid, completely ignoring the glare Draco was giving him.

“You’re not wanted here. Stay away from him,” Draco hissed, putting more pressure on my shoulder, trying to get me to focus on him. But I’m not. I’m focusing on the blond man pointing a wand at my leg.

‘Don’t touch me don’t touch me don’t touch me- get away from me get away from me GeT aWaY fRoM mE! GET AWAY FROM ME-’ “GET AWAY FROM ME! I WANT HAGRID! NOT YOU!” My thoughts reached my voice and all I could do was scream at this man to get away from me. I don’t want him near me! I want Draco and Hermione! I want Pomfrey! I want anyone but him! My throat ripped apart from my voice and my heart racing a mile a minute. “GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME YOU SON OF A-”

“_Brackium Emendo!_” Lockhart smoothly pronounced the spell at my leg, completely ignoring my screaming and a jet of white light hit my leg. The pain was gone. “Oh… well… that, ahem, spell usually works. Oh well, no more broken bone!”

“What did you do to his leg?!” Draco gaped, “Neville, check his leg! Harry, don't move.”

Neville, who I only just realized was there as well, bent down and poked my right leg. I didn’t feel anything and when I tried to look, Hermione pressed her forearm on my forehead. I could barely see from the bottom of my vision that Neville was poking my leg, gagging, then poking it again like it was an impulse he could not control. Ron appeared in my vision -he’s so tall that I could see him clearly- and smacked Neville's hand away from my leg… then proceeded to poke my leg as well.

“It’s like jelly…” Ron marveled with disgust, matching Draco’s expression to stare at Lockhart. "You didn't even stop the bleeding, what is wrong with you?!"

Hagrid came stomping over and scooping me in his arms, keeping a protective grip while he had a displeased glow in his usually gentle eyes, all aimed straight for Lockhart. My friends following him while the professors stuck behind to lecture Lockhart on protocal. I barely registered Flitwick saying something along the lines of "if a student screams at you, you need to listen to them." 

I stared up at the sky and soon the castle ceiling, fighting every urge to look at my leg, which I could feel it hitting my left leg with each step Hagrid took. I couldn’t even feel the upper part of my right leg, but I could feel eyes focused on me.

"Is Pansy okay?" I asked and was surprised at how high pitched my voice was to my ears. I almost sound like Luna if I had to compare.

“She's fine. I’m writing a letter to my father about this! Who does he think he was casting a spell he had no business casting?” Draco’s ranting functioned as a nice deterrent from the pain. “I bet that wasn’t even a real spell- what are you looking at? Are you Harry’s friends? No? Then get lost!”

Several footsteps running in the opposite direction of us indicated enough of what just happened.

"Had ter be a real spell, Harry don' have any bones left!" Hagrid bellowed, looking down at me with pity.

"I'm okay, don't feel a thing." Wow the world is spinning. "Are you spinning, Hagrid?"

Hagrid walked faster and the only person keeping up was Luna, who was lightly smacking different spots on my face.

We made it to the Hospital Wing with little to no issues, minus Hermione chastising Draco on terrorizing students. Madam Pomfrey took one look at me, my leg, the Slytherin that had steam coming out of his ears, and promptly ordered Hagrid to set me in a bed. I was spelled into pajamas, shorts instead of normal length trousers so Pomfrey could work on my Jell-O leg that Hermione refused to let me look at. 

"Hermione, I'm going to see it anyway, let me look." I protested against her insistent blocking.

"I think not!" Hermione huffed and shook her head, turning her bushy hair into a curtain while keeping her face in front of mine.

"Best ter listen ter yer friend, Harry," Hagrid advised, his expression grim. "It don' look too pretty."

"I want to see why Neville and Ron kept poking it!" I whined, black splotches beginning to dance accross my vision.

"Think he's running low on blood..." Hagrid said to Neville with mild-confidence. "Mos' of it is on my coat or teh floor."

"Please don't remind me," Neville said with a paling face.

Pomfrey fixed up the hole caused by my tibia then casted my leg up to my thigh to keep it still. She tutted, removed my anklet and dropped the jewelry into Hermione’s hand.

“A broken bone I can mend in a heartbeat, but growing bones is a lengthy and painful process… here.” Pomfrey gave me a cup that contained the skele-gro potion, a liquid that looked like two-thirds water and one-third milk that I gagged the moment I tasted it.

“Must be gross…” Luna commented with a sigh. “You look like you’re going to throw up. Is there a bucket near?”

“Well, what do you expect? Pumpkin juice?” Pomfrey blinked in confusion when my friends began to giggle. 

“Ugh… it tastes like liquid chalk that sat in the summer sun of the equator for two hours…” I finished the potion with a hearty gulp, violently shivering as the flavor traveled through my very bones. 

“I will have to report that new flavor description to my colleagues,” Pomfrey mused. “Now, everyone out! This is going to feel awful for Potter and he’ll be a little drama queen for the night as students like to say.”

“Isn’t he always a drama queen?”

“Draco… if I wasn’t bed-bound I would have hexed you for that…” I growled, causing the Malfoy to run off with an “I told you!” as he vanished through the door. “I STILL OWE YOU A KISS BY THE WAY!”

“_NO_!”

“A kiss?” Neville questioned in a concerned tone, looking between me and the open door.

“He called me a damsel…” I crossed my arms and pressed my head more into the pillow. "I'm not a damsel, there was no dragon or train involved in my rescue..."

“Oh my…” Hermione giggled behind her hand but stopped when she glanced at my leg. 

Neville and Luna gave me goodbye shoulder pats and left as well, leaving Hermione last to give me a tight hug.

“I hope you know what you’re doing…” She whispers, slipping something under my pillow.

“I do, could you put that jewelry around my other ankle? I feels weird not wearing it.”

Hermione nodded and clasped the anklet around my other leg, the metal feeling foreign against it but I'll endure the feeling as it was only for tonight. Hermione left after making sure I was going to be ok.

I waited, minor groans occasionally coming from me as the unpleasant feeling of bones regrowing under my skin began to arrive. The feeling was… like an object that got stuck under your skin and was moving. It started with a similar feeling to having a needle stuck in my leg then started to expand. I didn't mind the feeling from my leg, I can power through that. But once my foot began to grow was when hot flashes of pain kicked in. Pomfrey gave me a calming draught, concerned that I'd start screaming. She discovered that night that I am very foot sensitive. 

I'm also pretty sure skele-gro is designed for hands and arms, not the legs and feet.

I drifted for a moment, only to wake up sometime later to small hands fluffing up my pillow.

“Dobby…” I groaned out, both from the discomfort of the growing bones and the fact that I was just about to fall asleep. “That was very rude…”

“Dobby is sorry Harry Potter got hurt in the leg, Dobby only meant for Harry Potter to be sent home! It’s not safe for you, sir.” Dobby jumped onto the bed, fiddling with his bandaged hands. “Dobby has the utmost guilt for the Bludger… Dobby ironed his hands as punish-” He hesitates. 

“Rude, sir?”

“Yes, rude,” I say, attempting to push myself up only to flop back onto the now fluffed pillow. “Being rude means to do an injustice to someone or are being impolite to them. Sending a Bludger after me, was rude… Look, Dobby...”

The little house elf halted just as he was about to beat his head in with the Skele-gro potions bottle.

“Don’t do that, please. I hate that you do that,” I rub my eyes, pushing my glasses up to my forehead then letting them fall back onto my nose. “I understand why you’re doing all of this…”

“You do?” Dobby asked with wide eyes that I swear have not blinked once since he arrived.

“Yes… I know exactly what creature is in the Chamber of Secrets and I know that it came out because Mr. Malfoy gave Ginny the diary… but I can’t just leave my friends defenseless while I’m cooped up with the Dursleys. For starters, one of my dearest friends is a muggle-born and her life would be in danger if she’s left alone…”

I let out a breath and continue. “Besides… I’d rather face a giant snake then go back to that house… I’m more scared of being sent back home.”

“Harry Potter truly is a kind soul, sir… but are your relatives that bad?” Dobby tilted his head curiously, eyes gleaming with innocence.

“In some ways… but… I’m afraid of what I would do to them if I went back before summer…” I let out a long sigh, pushing out all of the air from my lungs as physically possible. “I may try to… control my emotions and treat others with the love and care I think they deserve,” I give Dobby a kind smile. “But even so… I’m not perfect and I can only handle so much.”

I reach over and pat Dobby on his knobby shoulders, not once wincing at how skinny he was. “You better go back before someone catches you. I’ll be going home with Draco for Christmas… I appreciate you trying to protect me but even if you had sent that Bludger straight to my head, I wouldn’t leave Hogwarts.”

“Dobby’s masters have been kinder, sir. They only give two death threats a day instead of five!” Dobby held up two fingers with a wide grin. “Dobby will let Harry Potter sleep now, sir.” With a snap of his fingers, Dobby vanished from the Hospital Wing.

I laid in the hospital bed, waiting for things to go quiet again. Things didn’t unfortunately. 

Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Pomfrey shuffle to a hospital bed across from me and put up a curtain, setting someone on the bed. It was Colin, he was trying to sneak into the Hospital Wing to see me… but the basilisk petrified him before he could get here. 

I flinched when I heard a small explosion from Colin’s camera, followed by the high pitched whine of the burning film. Yikes… Better the camera than him…

I closed my eyes and laid perfectly still when Pomfrey rushed over to make sure I was asleep.

“I thought last year was because he was rendered unconscious but I guess Potter does sleep straight…” I felt Pomfrey readjust my leg so it was propped up more. “Unusual for boys his age, usually they try to twist their bodies or curl up.”

“Well, expecting Potter to be normal would be as impossible as it is unreasonable to make a centaur walk on two legs,” McGonagall said while fidgeting with the busted camera. “I will see if there is a spell to repair the camera’s film… Potter won’t be happy when he discovers this in the morning, Albus.”

“I’m aware… I fear that the boy was right, I should have taken greater precautions…” Dumbledore’s voice was thick with regret and I heard someone patting his back. Don’t comfort him. He should have listened to my warnings like a responsible adult, especially considering last year.

The adults eventually filtered out of the room and I opened my eyes. Colin’s bed was covered with a screen, but with the moonlight, I could make out the tiny body, arms partially up like he was holding something at eye level. Were petrified people conscious of themselves? Or was it like a deep sleep to them? 

“Brain, please stop asking these questions and go back to sleep…” I murmur, trying to clamp my eyes shut again. I’m tired, my leg feels like a thousand unknown things were crawling and building inside it. But my mind keeps going back to Colin and the petrification… and how it makes absolutely no sense. Why is the body not immediately degraded from lack of oxygen and brain waves? What if Colin stayed petrified for a long time? Would he eventually age or die, or is he a statue?

‘Well… Not getting any sleep tonight…’ I thought annoyed and reached under the pillow. In my hands was Tom Riddle’s diary and my pen that I use to write to Sirius with. I marveled, for a moment, at how plain the diary was. There were no fancy markings or ominous designs. It was just a black book with the name “Tom Riddle” carved into a fake gold plaque. Ironic, thinks so highly of himself and yet he kept the fake gold.

To think… there is a teenage version of the world’s most stereotypical sociopath waiting to be greeted by Ginny and hear the woes and whines of said pre-teen girl… All of the painful things you expect a young 11-year-old to write. All the cringy, frustratingly bad grammar inconsistent death traps that come with letting your emotions control your words...

I wonder if Tom likes fanfiction?

I click my pen and was about to write when my brain drew a blank. What the heck am I supposed to write that would completely and utterly mortify him? Wow, it’s been a long time since I actually read or wrote anything remotely adult… Oh well, I’ll just write some crappy smut. Who cares if I get the anatomy right?

Now… who should I write about?

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

_‘As Rogers finally collapsed next to Stark, sweat glistening under the moonlight through the one open window he gave the man a long, passionate kiss to seal the love between them. No matter what the world would say about this relationship-’_

“Wow, he’s resilient…” I mutter to myself, left foot curling my toes at how uncomfortable just writing this was making me. The ink was vanishing as I wrote but I somehow just spent the last two hours writing some… ahem… literature and Tom has not made a peep to interrupt my writing. 

_‘Okay, seriously, I was waiting for you to say something so I didn’t have to write that.’_

Nothing happened for a moment, then ink appeared on the page.

‘My apologies, you seemed to have been enjoying your… writing, Ginny. Did you get into a new hobby since we last chatted? It’s rather..._'_

The ink vanished and no new words appeared for a solid minute.

‘Raw and robust.’ Tom wrote in polite, crisp cursive that left no room for flamboyance or wasted effort.

I snorted and continued writing, now a smirk on my face.

_‘Actually, this isn’t Ginny, my name is Harry Potter. I would have thought you'd figure it out the moment I didn't say hi to you.’_  
  
Another pause.

‘I see. Well, Harry Potter, my name is Tom Riddle. I must admit you had caught me off guard with your writing.’

‘_That was the point, T-_’ I sneeze, my hand screwing up my writing, ‘_-im_.’

‘My name is Tom.’

‘_So Tim,_’ I bite my lower lip with a snicker. Merlin, I am tired. _‘I might as well be forward with you. I know who you really are, and your relationship with the Chamber of Secrets… You are in my possession now and let’s be honest here; You won’t be able to return to Ginny._’

‘Oh? What makes me believe anything you just told me?’

_‘Tom Marvolo Riddle, a Slytherin who was rewarded for great services to Hogwarts fifty years ago for the Chamber of Secrets. How convenient that someone with a fascination for dangerous animals happened to go to school at the same time as you. Besides that, Ginny is a female Gryffindor, she cannot enter the Slytherin’s boy dormitory. If she did, I can just keep the dairy locked away in a safe location. I suggest you learn how to play smart, pretty boy. I've killed you before and I'll do it again.'_

Before Tom could respond I slam the dairy shut and take a deep breath. Okay, I may have taken that a bit too far… too late to regret that now. 

Pushing the dairy back under the pillow with the pen, I closed my eyes and had a dreamless sleep.

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

“Madam Pomfrey, I’m fine, can I please just go to dinner? I’ll come straight back here if my leg begins to hurt,” I begged to the stubborn but goodhearted medical witch. After three solid hours of physical therapy and enough potions to probably curse me with stomach pains for a week, I wanted out. The air tastes like fluxweed whenever I spoke or breathed.

“Take five steps, Mr. Potter then I will decide,” Pomfrey ordered, pointing in the direction she wanted me to walk. I complied but my new right leg was stiff, giving me a slight sway when I walked, the foot hits the ground with more weight than my left. It felt like walking with a foot that was asleep, but without the tingly pins. I managed the five steps with the knowledge that I would be exhausted by the time I get to the Great Hall. “All right, you may go. But if you fall I’m keeping you in here until Christmas, you hear me, young man? And I want you to stay far away from Professor Lockhart outside of class.”

“Yes, ma’am!” I saluted her and made the clunky walk towards the Great Hall, students stared at me, keeping their distance as I struggled to go down the stairs to make it to the ground floor. I did not anticipate the stairs when making my journey. Lavender Brown helped me down the last flight of stairs when she saw me struggling.

When I finally made it to the ground floor, I turned a right and froze, a growl escaping me. Why… out of every person in this Merlin forsaken school… why was _he_ the one to approach me?

“Harry! Marvelous that you’re all patched up! No doubt my spell helped in getting you back on your feet so quickly!” Lockhart strutted over like he did absolutely nothing wrong and threw his arm over my shoulder, which in turn nearly made me fall. “Little clumsy on the feet, eh Harry?”

“I had to _regrow_ my entire leg…” I growled out, finally losing my patience with him. I grabbed his wrist and removed him from my person.

“Now, I understand that you are upset, but I have some splendid news!” Lockhart never lost that grin of his, not once feeling the murderous vibes wafting off of me like body odor from three weeks of no baths. Nearby students slowly inched away and one ran into the Great Hall, I think I heard them shouting for someone. “Dueling Club will begin this Friday afternoon! I made sure to sign you up to be a part of the club and many of your friends have joined as well!”

“Fantastic…” I hissed out, mindful to not speak in Parseltongue. A gentle hand takes mine from behind and began to pull.

“Harry needs to eat, professor!” Hermione’s voice was like a steady breeze after a stormy day. “Sorry to cut the conversation short.”

“Nonsense, Ms. Granger! Children need to keep up their strength,” Lockhart said with a dismissal wave of his hand and I was dragged away by Hermione.

She took me to the Great Hall, her pace slowing when she realized that I was struggling to keep up and I was soon surrounded by Gryffindors. Hermione on my right, Neville to my left and the Weasley clan across from me. The twins were piling food on my plate to the point where I was concerned it would topple over me.

“Well, for someone who lost a leg, you’re taking it in stride,” Fred started with a grin.

We all groaned.

“Yeah, but I think Lockhart is on his last leg with students,” George continued and the twins chuckled when I buried my face in Hermione’s shoulder. “Ain’t that the bee’s knees for cuteness?”

I kicked them both.

“Really you two? Leg puns?” Hermione’s voice rang amusement rather than annoyance. “Hope you don’t mind sitting with us, Harry. I saw you were limping and thought our table was closer.”

“I don’t mind,” I look around the tall Weasley siblings to give my Slytherin friends a wave and then began to enjoy some carrots. “Who here is going to the Dueling Club on Friday?”

Everyone but the twins rose their hands, something about them having Friday detentions for a month because they…

“How… how do you even charm pants like that?” I gawked at the twins. I reached with my opposite hand and patted Hermione on the shoulder as she was the only girl in the gang and had to hear us talking about underwear.

“Easy, we broke into Lockart’s private quarters” Fred started.

“Really easy, the bloke has almost no protective wards against students entering and teachers are supposed to create their own. No one can break into Snape’s,” George supplied.

“We then found where he keeps his pants,”

“They’re color-coded by weekday, by the way.”

I did not need to know that.

“And we casted the Ducklifors Jinx hoping to turn them into ducks… but nothing happened, so we left.”

“Then this morning, we had his class and when he sat down we heard a quack!” 

I snorted into my water. It burns!

“It was brilliant!” George let out a laugh. “His pants let out a quack every time he sat down.”

“Made the whole class look for the duck,” Fred shook his head with a happy sigh. “We only just learned it so we need more practice.”

“Got caught though, now we have lines with McGonagall on Fridays. But I never saw her lips twitch so much when she got the note. Didn’t even lose points,” George leaned backwards despite there being nothing for him to lean against. “I think she’s cross with Lockhart for causing more harm than good on your leg.”

I look over to the Head Table and spotted McGonagall looking at me. I gave her a smile and a wave and she merely nodded her head behind a goblet. We spend the rest of dinner planning future pranks and whatever I may have missed in the last twelve hours, all that was left was Dueling Club… Hopefully with fewer snakes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had Harry end up with a broken leg because I find that more realistic to get injured in this situation than an arm, especially since my Harry frequently keeps them tucked close to his body. Also, I know it's a kids book, but the fact that in canon, Harry didn't end up with bones sticking out of his arm is the weirdest thing to me. Bludgers are big iron balls with attitude problems, he should have been in worse shape.
> 
> It was also nice to get Hagrid a few lines as I looked back and realized he didn't have much of a role in this book, so I added some in.
> 
> Vocabulary: The tibia is the largest bone in your leg, also known as the shinbone.
> 
> Don't ask why I had Harry write Steve x Tony (Avengers), I wrote the first gay pairing that came to mind. But I like to imagine Tom uncomfortably squirming as things got into more detail. But hey, Harry has the diary now! :D Harry won't communicate with Tom much at all because that risks him getting possessed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well... this escalated quickly.

Friday rolled around faster than I thought. One minute I was doing homework for Transfiguration, the next I was surrounded by students of different years and houses. Draco was to my left and Hermione at my right with Neville keeping little Luna nearby him and Ron, as she didn’t seem interested in the club but just wanted to be around us. Draco was the only Slytherin I saw that I immediately recognized and/or was in my circle of friends.

The room for Dueling Club was large and spacious with more windows than there were walls but seeing the outside world was impossible. Different elevated platforms set up for multiple duels surrounded us while we crowded around the center-most platform. Strutting to the middle of the platform, dressed simpler, but flashy robes was none other than Mr. Faker himself and… Professor Snape? Oh, right, he’s involved.

“How did Lockhart convince _Snape_ of all people to co-observe this club?” I whispered to Draco, eyebrow rosed painfully as Lockhart was going on and on about dueling and the “etiquette” of dueling. It's really a lot like muggle duel except instead of guns you use sticks. 

“Professor Snape enjoys dueling,” Draco pauses to watch Snape send Lockhart flying backwards with _Expelliarmus_. “Pretty sure he joined just so none of us end up killing each other.”

“Shame, I have a Ravenclaw who I need to give payback to,” I mutter, giving one of Luna’s former bullies the stink eye, prompting Hermione to inch closer to Luna in a protective manner. Behind me, I heard Justin chuckle. He’s not a bad kid, but I just hope no one summons a bloody snake today, Christmas is almost here and I just want to study Animagus in peace.

We were broken up into pairs with Snape adamantly trying to keep our little gang from dueling together. Unfortunately for him, chaos ensued. Lockhart failed to control a massive group of emotionally charged children and adolescents who went from “We are proper students of a luxurious school” to “GET EM!” as spells, hexes, and jinxes were flown at opponents and some fists were thrown- wow, nice uppercut Hermione!

The only calm duel was in the far, far corner where Luna had a Sixth-year Hufflepuff with the thickest Scottish accent I have ever heard. She was teaching Luna basic shield charms and was an active teacher. The Hufflepuff seemed to have little interest in joining the bloodbath near her and was more interested in teaching the tiny Ravenclaw before her how to deflect jinxes.

“Wae yer hain loch thes an' 'en say th' speel, easy!”

No idea what she just said, but Luna seemed to get it just fine.

Snape brought me my opponent and quickly walked off because Hermione was trying to rip out a Slytherin girl’s hair. Man... that is some popcorn worthy fighting over there. When I looked at my opponent, I grinned.

“Well well well, what have we here?” I put my hands on my hip, having put my wand behind my ear as I stared down said Ravenclaw from earlier. She was one of the older girls, brown hair tightly woven into several braids that seemed to be pulling back her widow’s peak and dark brown eyes that had every curse in the English language swimming behind them. “I’ve been needing to teach you and your girlfriends a lesson in kindness.”

“We haven’t bothered Loony since October!” The Ravenclaw defended herself with a sharp huff. We bow and ready our wands, hers visibly shaking and she flinched when I made a mock lunge. I love my reputation.

“True but… If I hadn’t appeared, you would have kept bullying her,” I mutter out a color-changing charm at her, which missed and now Ron has Tron blue hair. “Sorry, Ron! My bad!”

“‘T’s alright, Harry! Looks kinda wicked!”

The Ravenclaw gulped and tightened the grip on her wand. If she had any muscle mass she would have snapped the wood in two, her knuckles screaming white.

We dueled. The Ravenclaw was on the defensive while I was happy to keep on spamming spells. They would be harmless, but with many of them being charms who knows what would happen if they actually hit her. Eventually, I managed to hit her with an _Expelliarmus_ and her wand goes flying to the side. I conjured soapy water and she fell flat on her back when she took a step to get her wand. I slowly stroll over to her and point my wand in front of her whimpering face.

“So… I’m pretty good at Transfiguration… what’ll it be? Shoes for hands? Or should I turn your hair into paper and conjure a cloud to rain ink on you? How does it feel to the one being picked on? I’m assuming you’re the ringleader since you look the oldest, but I’ll make sure the others also have the same fate…”

“You’re awful!” The Ravenclaw girl broke into sobs with thick, real tears running down her face as she hiccuped. "Th-This isn't fair!" She gasped out air, her cries piercing my ears like nails on a chalkboard. "Please stop this!"

“Oh, now you’re gonna cry when you were giggling about others unfortunate luck of falling under your radar? That’s the game we’re gonna play? Too bad for you because, guess what? I don’t fall. for. tears.” I raised my wand with the intent of transfiguring her hands into shiny, black loafers when I heard some students scream.

“SNAKE!”

I stopped, snapping my head in the direction of the screaming and watch as Lockhart sends a massive king cobra flying into the air and land within biting range of Neville. Taking a deep breath, I pick up the Ravenclaw’s wand and deposit it onto her lap. “Hope you had a good taste of your own medicine. Bully someone again and... well...”

I push my way through the students, trying to get to the opening center where I see the large snake -seriously, it’s three times as long as I am tall- staring Neville down like a puzzle waiting to be solved. Who in the name of Salazar summons a king cobra? How do you summon one? Can someone teach me how to do that, I want to summon an anaconda!

“_Leave him be…_” I hissed out in Parseltongue and the room goes still. I clap my hands once to get the snake’s attention and the snake swerves around to stare me down. It’s big and scary looking but I know that it just wants to get away. But with a bunch of humans blocking its path, it’s a trapped animal that will fight to get away. I hear Snape trying to shove students out of his way so he can fix this mess, so I just focus on keeping the snake’s eyes on me. “Neville, back up. Everyone back up! These things are fast and their bites are nasty!” 

I reach down and prod the snake’s tail with my wand, scrambling back when it slithered closer to me, keeping it’s head half a meter into the air. Students were frozen in terror, much to Snape’s annoyance. My own body was shaking because, again, the world's largest venomous snake is staring me down! I am so going to get bitten if I touch it again. “_You’re scared, I understand that…_”

“_Let me be… I was ssssummoned to attack…_” It’s black tongue flickered out and it’s mouth opened to appear more threatening.

Snape managed to get through and used the counter-curse on the cobra, vanishing it from the room. The room was silent, students that are not the most familiar with me are looking at me with distrust and fear, the muggle-borns especially which included Justin. I would move, but my knees wouldn’t stop shaking. Neville was the first to approach me, to take my arm and begin to pull me away, with Snape leading and causing the students to part like the Red Sea. Hermione, Draco, and Luna followed suit.

“You’re a Parselmouth?” Draco questioned me, eyes shifting around as Snape was leading us somewhere. Probably his office if I had to make a wager. “When did you become a Parselmouth?”

“He may have made a pact with Medusa… I heard she can give the language of the snake if you drink her blood…” Luna pondered while fiddling with her necklace. We gave her weird looks as that was possibly the most normal theory she could have come up with.

“I’ve always been able to speak to snakes… I um… accidentally set a snake on my cousin at the zoo because he pushed me,” I said, tucking my head close to my body when Neville nearly got tangled in his feet. 

“Right, ‘accidentally’ Harry.” Hermione skipped along looking absolutely flabbergasted. “This is bad you know.”

“Indeed,” Snape’s deep voice drawled out, he stopped at his office door and pushed it open. “Inside; I’m permitting everyone here to enter as this matter will require the collaboration of… all of your friends, Mr. Potter.”

We entered the office and Snape closed the door behind us. “I hope… you all understand the implications… Mr. Potter’s little stunt today will result in.”

“Everyone will think he’s the Heir of Slytherin,” Hermione answered quietly, looking at me with worry in her eyes.

“Correct, Ms. Granger. Once again your level of observance is… up to standards.” Snape seemed to physically contain his need to roll his eyes. “However, it is obvious that Mr. Potter has no relations with Salazar.”

“How do you know?” Neville asked nervously, not used to talking directly to Snape. “My gran says that the bloodline has long since vanished, you never know who is related to him until someone talks to snakes- err… sorry, Harry.”

Snape straightened up, unblinking as he stared at all of us. His jaw was set, and I watch his left arm pressed against his body. “Potter informed me of his ability to speak with snakes on Halloween, and I took the duty of looking into… details. His paternal side has their entire family tree recorded in detail. His father used to boast that no one in his family has ever been a Slytherin and…” He paused. “His mother was muggle-born.”

“Then why is Harry in Slytherin then?” Hermione asked, looking at me. “Did the hat give his reason?”

“The hat may have been possessed by wackspurt…” Cue all eyes on Luna. “They fly into your ears and make your brain fuzzy. They like negative thoughts, the hat must be infested with them with how negative everyone feels when it’s placed on their head.”

"That..." Hermione's mouth hung open as her eyes slowly blinked. "Makes more sense than it should."

“Well, actually I think he was going to put me in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw but I asked to be in Slytherin because… well…” I bump gently into Draco who pulls me into a side hug. “I didn’t want to be separated from my first friend. But what exactly can we do about the rumors that are no doubt going to be happening at the school?”

Snape collected himself. “I will be informing the other professors and Headmaster Dumbledore of the situation. Report to one of us immediately if students begin to start something…”

“Could just set the twins on them…” I mutter with mild hope that Snape doesn’t say anything.

“Not in my classroom.” Snape then flicked out his right hand, indicating that we were free to leave. We headed out to look for Ron and anyone else we may have left behind with Draco and Hermione sticking to my sides as if that would keep others away. This was when I spoke up.

“I think Fred and George have more things they want to test out.”

“Harry!” Hermione exclaimed.

“What? Snape said ‘not in my classroom’ not ‘do not get them involved’,” I say with my voice raising in its pitch when we spot a head of bright blue hair. “Woops, forgot about that.”

Hermione rolled her eyes then stormed over to Ron and casting the counter-curse for my accidental jinx much to his disappointment. We also made quick work to retreat to another location when we spotted Lockhart starting to come our way.

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

“That’s him, isn’t it?”

“I heard he can talk to snakes…”

“Do you think he’s…?”

The whispering went on and on and on. Rumors spread like wildfire that I was the Heir of Slytherin and non-snakes gave me fearful glances and stepped out of my way. The snow was beginning to fall with winter break a little over a week away. But everyone seemed to focus more on the rumors than actually preparing for Christmas. Well, besides my friends.

“_Make way for the heir!_” Two very familiar and very loud voices rang behind me. One minute I was walking with Draco and the next I’m in the air being carried by the twins.

“G-Guys! Put me down!” Of course, I laughed at this situation and how ridiculous it was, but still, feet off the _ground_!

“All fun and games, Harry!” Fred chuckled and set me down after parading me forward around the corridor and in another hallway. Draco rushes over and pulls me back to his side. “Ain’t that cute, brother?”

“Indeed it is,” George commented, but he frowns and looks around. I also look and see that they had relocated us to an area with virtually no students, mostly older ones that couldn't care less about us. “How are you doing with things?”

“I think I’m handling it better than the others,” I say with a shrug. “I know I’m not the heir and when the truth is finally brought to light then everyone owes me an apology.”

“If you say so, mate,” Fred looked at his brother, both wearing mirrored worried expressions. “Some bloke tried to warn Hermione about you. Said you were dangerous to be around.”

“She stomped on his foot and stormed off looking like she would have petrified him if given the opportunity,” George chuckled and then reached out to mess up both of our perfectly brushed hair. “There we go! A couple of kids!”

“Guys! Don’t mess up my hair-” I pause, my hand midway through my hair to flatten it as I left my brush in our room. “Wait, someone tried to get Hermione to distance herself from me?”

I chew on my lower lip. I wasn’t expecting someone to try and approach Hermione. Muggle-born or not, if people thought I was the heir then her being my friend would mean she’d be protected. Right?

I need to get rid of the basilisk, this is getting ridiculous. Dumbledore has spent the last four months sitting on this problem and because of that, because he has yet to move the paintings, Colin is petrified. Who is next on the list?

“I… I need to ask Sansa to deliver something for me.” I jerked my head to the side as a “follow me” to Draco and we walk away from the twins. As we walk to the owlery, I spot Justin and try to give him a friendly wave.

“Hey, Justin! How have…” My arm slowly lowers back to my side when the Hufflepuff caught sight of me and ran off in the opposite direction like a werewolf was going to give chase, “you… been…”

“Tch, what a coward,” Draco huffed through his nose before turning it up into the air with the familiar air of superiority. “Don’t worry, things will calm down after everyone has Christmas.”

“I sure hope so, otherwise I might just wander the halls hissing until I find the Chamber…” I grumbled, entering the owlery. Sansa flies down and perches on a beam, waiting patiently for whatever expedition I’m forcing her to travel to. 

Draco snorts, “Who cares what they think- wait, what?”

“What?”

"What do you mean by hissing to find the Chamber?"

I look up at Draco, mid-writing. “It’s obvious Salazar would make it so only his bloodline could access it. If I was him, I’d make it be some genetic language too.” I sign the note with a dramatic flick of the wrist, getting some ink on Draco in the process -he needs to stop standing by me- and tie the letter to Sansa’s leg. “I’ll need the item delivered directly to me girl, are you able to do that?”

Sansa, realizing she’s _not_ going to scary-monster-prison, let out a pleased screech and preened my hand with more love than needed. I let her give her affection and return it with kisses and feather strokes. Behind me, Draco lets out a dramatic groan.

“Harry, that’s an owl, not a cat. You don’t need to kiss it.”

“You have five seconds to correct yourself before I make it so you burp Christmas music at dinner,” I say in-between giving Sansa the loudest, most obnoxious kisses on her feathery head. I love my beautiful baby girl. She flaps her wings when she’s decided that I had given her enough kisses and took off, the letter tied elegantly to her powerful legs.

“All I’m saying is that you are extremely affectionate to her, but not to your rat?” Draco questioned, absentmindedly stroking Ulysses’s breast as he came to greet his master. 

“Because Sansa doesn’t try to bite me when I pet her. Scabbers does.” I re-adjust my winter cloak so I am wrapped in the soft fabrics.

“Fair enough I supposed. I shouldn’t be too surprised you’d be affectionate with her. I know she means a lot to you.” Draco shoos his owl away and I follow him out of the owlery. “What did you write anyway?

“I ordered some stuff for Christmas,” I say with a simple tone, blowing warm air into my hands in an attempt to warm them up. The snow began to pick up, making Draco look like an ice fairy while I looked like I had a bad case of dandruff. The curse of having black hair. “Let’s go have some hot chocolate before we freeze our butts off.”

“Your muggle phrases are weird.”

“Your hair is weird, your point?”

We spent the rest of the walk bickering and insulting each other, laughing the entire way.

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

The rumors didn’t let up, even though Christmas break was only two days away.

I was anxious. My palms sweating from the moment I woke up this morning and I didn’t bother brushing my hair much either. I ended up sporting a messy, short, ugly ponytail that gave Pansy grief. I just needed to last the rest of the week and then I’ll be whisked away to the Malfoy manor for whatever weird Christmas gala they had.

I was with Ron for once after helping him with a Potions essay. Things were... tense to say the least, not because he believed in the rumors, but because Hermione tended to function as a barrier between us.

"Fred and George made this potion that caused half of the Gryffindors in their year croak like frogs. Think they believe in those stupid rumors." Ron was telling the story of what was going on yesterday. "Bloody brilliant, some of the students that accidentally drank the potion tried to join the frog choir."

"That explains the sounds-" I winced when something solid and absolutely freezing hit the back of my head. I put a hand on the place of impact and found compact snow. It was nearly ice! Thankfully there wasn't any blood. "Ow- _COLD_!" I cringed, arching my back as some of the snow began to melt and slide into my robes. "RUDE!"

"Hey, jerks! Get back here!" Ron ran in the direction the snowball came from and I watched him chase a couple of students. I couldn't see who they were or what house they're from, but I swear I heard light croaking. 

"Well then..." I waited for a minute to see if Ron would return but with no sign of red hair in the distance I returned to my stroll, occasionally moving my robes to get rid of the cold feeling down my spine. Turning a corner I hear familiar, heavy footsteps.

Hagrid was in the hallway, holding a dead rooster by the neck as he was heading up some stairs. I froze, hiding behind a corner and I reached into my bag for the diary and my pen. No… this can’t be the case. I have the diary, there shouldn’t be any attacks! He’s not around Ginny anymore and I haven’t had alone time since the Bludger incident!

_‘What did you do, Riddle?!’_ I wrote furiously in the diary, wanting to rip the book apart and set it ablaze with the very flames of hell.

‘Nothing I haven’t had control of before. I’m under the impression you thought keeping my diary away would make things better?’

I growled, shoving the diary back into my bag with the pen and sped walk through the hallways. I need to find Hermione. I need to make sure she’s safe. She should be in the library, she’s always in the library with Blaise. She was in the library the last time I was there!

“_Kill… KILL!_” The familiar hiss of the basilisk was louder, closer than it had ever been. My heart reached my ears as I increased my pace until I was in a full run. Hermione's safe but I need to find the muggle-born it’s targeting next!

“I must say, what is that noise?” I heard Nearly Headless Nick exclaim down the hallway.

I tripped, landing on my chest with a hard grunt. I pushed my glasses up as it nearly slipped off my face and got back to my feet, somewhat more clumsy than before. I keep running, my voice finally catching up with my brain.

“No… nonono! CLOSE YOUR EYES! DON’T LOOK AT IT!” I cried out, taking a sharp turn at the corner, banging my arm against the stone in the process. As I looked at my arm, I heard Nick gasp. I also saw a pair of shoes pointing in my direction and green scales.

I didn’t think. I tackled. Pain shot down my left hand and up my arm as I used it to keep Justin’s head from cracking against the stone.

“Potter? What are you doing?!” Justin screeched, trying to get out of my grip. He stilled when I slammed my forearm over his eyes and became dead weight on him.

“Keep your eyes closed! Just keep them closed!” I also had my eyes shut. Something foul hit my nose and something large hovered over the two of us. I kept my focus on making sure the stupid Hufflepuff underneath me was covered.

“_So hungry… let me kill… let me kill his enemies…_” The Basilisk hissed in my ear. I’m pretty sure at the rate I’m breathing Justin could smell the fruit tart I had for lunch today. Where are the professors? How did I get here before Justin got petrified? How can this snake travel through PIPES?!

“_Leave him be!_” I hissed out to the snake. “_I am the true enemy of Slytherin! The downfall to his heir! Spare the muggle-born and I will go to the chamber for you to feast on!_” Please let this work.

All was quiet, save for mine and Justin’s ragged breaths. But then, I could hear the scales move and the fear subsides as the presence left. I risked taking a peek and once I confirmed that there was no giant serpent behind me, I got up. I had to lean against the wall, my whole body shaking. My face warm and my left hand throbbing with a dull ache that asked to be put on ice.

Justin pushed himself up with a groan, rubbing the back of his head and glared at me, “What was that? What did you do?”

“I saved your life, that’s what I did. That was the Chamber’s monster and if you had looked at it, you would have died. Look at Nearly-Headless Nick!” I pointed up at the- uh… dead ghost? Knocked out ghost? How does the basilisk affect ghosts?

“Yeah right, you just did that to make people think you’re not the heir. Come on, the evidence all points at you! You’re a Slytherin and a Parselmouth!”

I must have given a look. Justin began to back away, looking like a trapped rabbit about to have its neck twisted by a wolf.

I grabbed Justin’s robes and shoved him hard against the wall. My voice getting higher pitched as did my volume. “Did you also forget the part where one of my best friends is a muggle-born? Huh? Did your memory _conveniently_ forget that teeny tiny bit of information?” I gave the boy a harsh shake, making him whimper. “Why would I petrify Colin, who showed nothing but kindness to me? Why would I petrify a cat when I’m an obvious animal lover?! Why the bloody hell would I damage my hand trying to protect _you_?”

“Potter!” McGonagall's voice reached my ears and my hands released Justin, who scrambled to get away from me. I looked over to the woman and she examined the scene in front of her. 

Nick, floating in a death-like status and Harry Potter intimidating a muggle-born student during a time when the very same demographic of students are being attacked? It does not paint a good picture.

“Come with me, Mr. Potter. The Headmaster wants to speak with you,” McGonagall said sternly, but not cross. “You may go Mr. Finch-Fletchley.”

I bowed my head and shuffled behind McGonagall without a word. I glanced at Justin, who was no longer glaring at me or even looked terrified. His eyes were bright and his jaw slacked. He looked up at Nick then back at me and something seemed to click in his mind.

He turned away and I too, did the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yeah, Harry's dealing with all of this crap right away. I am super excited to show what happens when he deals with the basilisk, it's one of my favorite things I've had to write for this fic so far purely because I like details.
> 
> Scottish translation: "Wave your hand like this and then say the spell, easy!"  
There is actually a Scottish-accent translator on the internet and it saved me a lot of time trying to type this out myself.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry is gonna have an entire section in the Hospital Wing to himself at the rate he's going.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Gore and gross descriptions in this chapter! Not made for the squeamish. I do not recommend eating while reading this chapter! I ate while writing it and i had to stop!

McGonagall didn’t come with me into Dumbledore’s office. But she did speak to me before I went up the stairs.

“I will turn a blind eye this one time Mr. Potter as I know this has been a troubling week for you and… no doubt you may have saved that boy’s life. But know that this is the only exception I will make.” She turned her back to me but stopped. “Do remember your essay is due tomorrow.”

“Yes, Professor…” I went up the staircase and away from the older woman.

I rubbed my temples as I entered Dumbledore’s office, triple-checking to make sure my bag was on my body correctly. Every time I come here there is something new to look at. The books, still poorly organized along with multiple trinkets and doodads that probably could kill me if I breathed on them. But the lack of a certain old man left me confused, all adrenaline and panic from before sapped out of my body.

“Hello?” I called out. “Headmaster?” But there was no response. 

Well… his mistake leaving a twelve-year-old alone with ancient magical artifacts.

While I avoided touching anything and avoiding Fawkes in case that was the trigger to the next cutscene- cut that out Harry, this isn’t a video game- I found my prize. In the center back of the massive office was a glass cabinet. Gold vines wrapped around the edges of the fingerprint-free glass and inside on a dark stand was the Sword of Gryffindor.

A slow exhale escaped my lips and I looked around to see if Dumbledore had appeared at all, but I was still alone, save for the elderly phoenix. I walked over to the display, ghostly running my middle finger over the gold while my remaining fingers hovered above just slightly when a raspy voice made me jump out of my skin.

“Does the reincarnated know how to wield a sword?” The tattered old sorting hat questioned aloud on his shelf. “Your mind suggests you’ve never used a weapon before.”

“Merlin you scared me! Wow… okay… well, no, I don’t. But I know you don’t really care,” I responded and returned to my feeling of the golden vines. “I… can’t wait any longer. I need to get rid of the basilisk before another muggle-born gets hurt. I saved Justin, but what if that leads to Hermione’s early petrification… or worse…”

“Ah… you fear the consequences of your actions, am I wrong?” The hat mused. “You have every right to be afraid, but it is like you said; Hogwarts is in danger and you feel compelled to do something about it. Protect the ones you love.”

“Right… Mind if I borrow the sword then?”

A pause.

“Sneaky child. I have no arguments. But that is an ancient relic that I am tied to and Dumbledore has not opened that case in years. I am certain that you will not be able to-”

“Oh! Here’s the latch!” _Click_.

“-open it…”

Carefully picking up the silver sword I marveled at how light it was. I’ve carried cats heavier than this ancient weapon. Once again checking to make sure Dumbledore wasn’t in the room, I opened my bag and promptly shoved it in the endless void that is the undetectable extension charm and closed the glass case.

That was surprisingly easy.

With that out of the way I slowly made my way over to Fawkes as the limb, greying bird burst into flames and fell into the ashes. I jumped slightly, not expecting him to escalate to death so quickly. A presence behind me caused me to look into the sparkling blue eyes that belonged to Dumbledore.

“I apologize you had to see that, he’s been looking more and more dreadful over the last week…” Dumbledore spoke softly, as if worried I would flee from fear. “An amazing thing, phoenix are. They die and then they’re… reborn from the ashes.”

On cue, a little naked bird poked its wrinkled head out of the ashes and chirped at Dumbledore.

“Do you hope to be like a phoenix, sir?” I asked, resuming my usual activity of getting as much space between us as possible without coming off as rude. “Perish and then come back like a creature of fire?”

“An interesting take, Harry. No… when I die, it shall be my final moment. But we are not here to talk about that.” The old man faced me. “Professor Snape has been keeping me informed about what has been going on.”

I say nothing, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning towards my left side. Ever since I regrew that leg it’s been more sturdy, easier to use as a leaning post than my right. I remained quiet as I waited for Dumbledore to resume speaking.

“I know you are not the one that opened the Chamber. I know this as fact… and I must apologize for not doing everything I could to prevent the attack in November.”

“Justin was nearly attacked by the monster. Just a few minutes ago actually,” I said with bite in my voice. “I had to tackle him to the ground to stop him from being petrified. The creature was _breathing_ on me, wanting me to let it kill Justin. It’s a massive monster and yet no one has been able to witness it without being petrified… Sir, Hogwarts is not going to be safe if that thing remains.”

“I understand your frustration, Harry. We are doing all we can to find the Chamber of Secrets.”

“And what will you do when you find this Chamber? How are you or any of the professors going to kill it if people fall like statues from encountering the monster?” I leaned forward with a scowl. “You talk a big game but so far every time something has happened at Hogwarts, it was me and my friends who took care of it. Are the adults here going to act like ones or do I have to keep playing hero to your little game?” The last word was spat with venom.

“Harry…” Dumbledore’s voice remained calm, but tired. Understanding yet conflicted at the same time all wrapped in this old man. “You should have never been burdened with these feelings, it's our job to keep you safe. Perhaps one day, I'll be able to make it up to you and the other students for my failures."

I crossed my arms, looking away from the adorably naked fledgling begging for food. Dumbledore is an enigma to me, one minute he's the man I despise in his castle most, and the next he's like a pitiful grandfather who doesn't understand children. I want to trust him to do his job but... no. No, I'm getting this done _now_. "May I leave? I have an essay in Transfigurations due soon and I need to go over it."

"Yes...You are free to leave. I will take full security measures to ensure another attack does not happen again. Moving the portraits have been an adventure in itself.” Dumbledore attempted to lighten up the soured mood. "Hogwarts has more hallways than I thought."

“All I ask is that you try to keep everyone safe, Headmaster. I have people to protect just like you and I will do what I can to do it.” I leave Dumbledore’s office, trying to keep my pace even until I was well out of his sights when I went into a sprint. He’s going to figure out the sword is missing any moment now and no doubt he’s either going to wait and see what I do or demand it back. I only have today. I have to kill the basilisk today.

‘Need to hurry. The sooner the snake is dead the sooner I can get Lockhart’s arse fired and wait for summer to roll around. Wait… I need to tell an adult. Well… technically I am an adult but I need someone that’s physically an adult- that isn’t Lockhart specifically.’

I need to make sure I can actually get out of the Chamber when this whole debacle is over with… I’m so getting detention for this.

I ran several flights of stairs using years of built endurance to muster the energy to keep a fast pace. Like a wild bull, I sprinted into Snape’s office, wand in hand and pointed straight at my Head of House. He was mid-turn, wand out when I shouted out the spell that would seal everything I did today.

“_Petrificus totalus_!” My heart pounded painfully in my chest as Snape fell to the floor, stiff as a statue and glaring daggers into my soul. “S-sorry Professor, but I had to tell an adult and I know you would have stopped me.”

I take a deep breath, sweat beginning to roll down my back. “The… Merlin, I can’t breath…” I press my hands against my knees and let out a small wheeze. “The… Chamber’s monster is a… basilisk. That’s why I… god, I need air. That's why only I can understand it… basilisks petrify things when looking indirectly at them, muggle video games have it happen all the time.”

Snape’s eyes widen.

“The Chamber is inside the second floor’s girl’s bathroom and uh…” I pull the sword out of my bag partway to reveal it to Snape. Adrenaline began to pump through my veins once more, no doubt draining all of my energy as panic was starting to rise as I worried if I stayed too long, Snape would catch up and stop me. “Well… I’m gonna go grab a friend to guard the door for my owl and kill a giant snek now! Okay, love you, bye!” 

I quickly left the office, making sure it was tightly shut and conjured an overly massive padlock to delay Snape when he finally broke free. It didn’t matter who I found first, I just needed someone to guard the door to let Sansa in the bathroom. 

I managed to get to the first floor when I heard sobbing.

Pausing, I look in the direction of the cries then at the stairs to the second floor. My directions changed course and I headed for the sound. 

Luna was hugging Ginny, gently patting her back and saying nothing while the Weasley girl was sobbing into her shoulder. There were a few chicken feathers stuck to her robes. Luna spotted me and gave a soft smile, “Hello Harry, have you been running? You’re rather red.”

Ginny’s breath hitched and her body tensed in Luna’s arms.

“Yeah… I have. Ginny, do you know a Tom Riddle?”

Ginny froze entirely, I think she stopped breathing.

“I know who he is… who he truly is. I know about the Chamber of Secrets…” I reach into my bag, careful to not cut my hand on the sword and pull out the diary. “I had Hermione take the diary from you… and give it to me. I thought it would stop the attacks but… well, I saw Hagrid with a dead rooster.”

“How… how did you figure it out?” Ginny asked in a soft whisper, she looked at the diary like it would come to life and kill her on the spot.

“It’s… complicated? But I need your help, both of you. I know where the Chamber is.” Ginny ripped herself away from Luna. “I need you two to stand guard at the door to the girl’s bathroom. Not only to keep students from entering the room but because my owl will need access to the room.”

“Why, um… why does your owl need access?” Ginny asked, both girls following me as we make our way up the stairs to the bathroom.

“I ordered something to help kill the creature. Professor Snape knows where I’ll be, so there should be professors that arrive soon… I um… used the body binding curse on him.”

“I always thought Professor Snape could sense when danger was nearby…” Luna commented with a knowing smile. “Did you use teleportation, Harry?”

“Nothing like that Luna,” I chuckle out. “Can I trust you two?”

“Of course,” Luna said while Ginny nodded, her pale face starting to become flushed with determination.

I stop at the bathroom door and look at the girls. “No matter what, do not enter this bathroom. Once the professors arrive you can leave if they’ll let you. If you hear hissing or anything that doesn’t immediately sound human I want you two to run.” I pull Luna into a hug and look at Ginny, one arm outstretched and waiting for her permission to hug. She hesitated, looking at my arm with uncertainty, but when Luna beckoned her over she joined. “Sorry, I just needed something to calm my nerves. I’m freaking out.”

“You really shouldn’t be going in there alone,” Ginny commented, cheeks tinted pink.

“Well…” I don’t finish the sentence and instead, enter the bathroom.

The door to the girl’s bathroom slammed as my shaky hands pushed more force than necessary. Myrtle poked her head out from one of the toilets in interest, giggling when she realized it was me.

“Hello, Harry~ Come to see me again?”

“Hi, Myrtle. Lovely to see you, you look exceptionally gloomy today. You have an aura that radiates death on you like a cascade of funeral lilies-” What, in the name of King Arthur's unwashed armor, am I saying? “I hope you forgive the short visit but I have a short window of time to act. Going to avenge you and save the rest of Hogwarts.”

“Oh? How gallant for a snake. Well, if you do die down there, you’re welcome to share my toilet. I’d love the company.”

“That’s generous of you,” I responded, kneeling down by the faucet with the snakes molded onto it, the language of the snake passing my lips just as smoothly as English. “_Open… sesame._ Heh, I am such a nerd.”

I rose to my feet and took slow steps back as the sink broke apart seamlessly, parting way to reveal a hole into the floor. The darkness made it impossible to see how deep it actually was. However, with Snape most likely breaking free of the curse any second now, I didn’t have much time to do a test before an infuriated potions professor came in like a bat out of… well, the dungeons.

“Well… Like someone once told me… Leap of faith!” I hollered out and took a jump. The last syllable turning into a scream as I remembered that, oh right, _I HATE FALLING_! 

Not even a whole five seconds into the fall did my butt hit something solid and instead of a plummet to my death or a broken leg, I was sliding down a tube. ‘Did this happen in the film? The books? When did they install a slide?’

I reached for the sides and tried to slow down my descent, changing my angle so I am putting more weight to my center and eventually I manage to stop looking like I’m going down a slip n’ slide.

I landed somewhat ungracefully into piles of bones and rock. It didn’t make sense to me, but if the snake likes to… I dunno, eat its prey like a plate of ribs, who am I to judge? In the center of the Chamber’s outer corridor was a massive snakeskin, solid with age and broken up into segments. A chill ran up my spine at the sheer size of the skin, even caved in without a skeleton it was still taller than I was and I quickly made the executive decision to go into the main chamber before I get cold feet.

I love snakes… but not if it’s gonna be _this_ large.

The chamber itself released an ominous aura, the ground in the shallowest of water that kept an echoing splash as I took quick strides across the dark stone flooring. There was no Tom Riddle waiting for my arrival with Ginny’s almost-corpse laying like an offering to a god. In fact, as far as Tom Riddle might know, I’m not even here. If Luna wasn't around to keep Ginny grounded in reality, he might be trying to possess her again.

Staring up at the stone carving of Salazar Slytherin’s face I threw my arms out, locking my fingers together, and bending them until I got an unsatisfactory _pop_. 

“Ouch! Why did I think that was a good idea?!” With a groan, I went to Salazar’s face and began to climb. The stone, though appearing smooth, had no trouble gripping onto my British private academy leather shoes. Reaching the top of his skull and looking down with a gulp. I’m either going to do an awesome superhero landing on this snake, or I’m going to break my legs and then get eaten. Well… I’m already committed.

“_The enemy to the heir has come._” Hissing out the words and drawing the sword, also pulling out my dragonhide gloves for better gripping. I allowed my eyes to slide shut while the mouth to the basilisk’s chamber was opened. My heart beating into my skull, the hissing coming from below, all noises that got in the way of what I needed to hear; the sound of slithering against the stone.

I heard it, and then I jumped.

With the sword’s tip facing down it pierces into something and instead of it being a quick kill, I am now hanging onto the sword with all my strength while the basilisk screamed and flailed. Palms began to sweat and my legs slip off to the left, when I tried to adjust my foot I kicked something… something… squishy. The basilisk shrieked again, slamming its head onto the floor in an attempt to throw me off. I have no doubts that without my gloves, my sweaty hands would have let go immediately.

“Bloody hell I missed the brain didn’t I?!” I bellowed out, hot air emanated out somewhere, close enough to hit my face. It had no aroma, but it was warm but dry that made it hard to breathe. “I stabbed the nose?!_ Come on!_”

Out of stupidity and because a foot was about to lodge itself into an eye socket, I opened my eyes. In front of me were three immediate things: The sword, two green nostrils, and a white figure flying in this direction- now all I see in a wall- now I’m looking at Salazar’s face. Okay, _now_ I see the white figure again. 

“Close your eyes, Sansa! Don’t look!” I hollered in her direction, violently kicking my right leg into the squishy substance with brute force. “Don’t. Kill. My. Owl!”

The snake continued to shriek in pain as her left eye let out a vomit-inducing _pop_ and my sock, now clammy and warm with a sudden- okay I’m about to puke all over this ancient creature. Trying not to think about how I’m going to have to burn my shoes and socks I glanced up at Sansa when the snake allowed it. Specifically, I stared at her red, feathery package trembling in her talons.

Sansa flew overhead with a rooster in her grasps. Her eyes remained shut, using the basilisk’s screeches and it’s body slashing water to avoid hitting walls. Her talons twitched around the rooster, no doubt pinching the poor poultry’s body. She screeched threateningly, hissing between breaths.

The rooster crowed in panic, flailing within its safe prison. The sound echoed through the chamber over the basilisk's cries, the water splashing from the snake's weight and bounced off the walls until it was almost deafening.

The basilisk stilled, shaking from tail to head like a seizure. It’s massive head landing on the damp floor with a thud, not even a puff of air came through its nose. One moment, the snake was worming around in pain, the next... nothing. The force of the sudden land knocked the wind out of me and I nearly fell because of my grip loosening from the sword.

I closed my eyes again and yanked the sword from the basilisk’s nasal cavity, something warm and wet splattering all over my clothes. Swallowing my immediate desire to remove everything in my stomach, I crawled upwards on the snake’s head, patting around until my hand landed on the right eye with another _squish_. When my foot hit it, it was like hitting a water balloon, but to my hand it was like a jellyfish.

Once again, I gagged.

Taking the sword in my hand, I stabbed it into the snake’s eye and into the brain, twisting it counterclockwise until I was certain the eye was destroyed. The snake’s abilities after death remains a mystery to me, but I won’t take any chances.

Opening my eyes again and frowned from my vision being impaired by blood on my glasses. I pressed the sword vertically in between my bicep and my body so I could cup my bloodied, goo-covered, gloved hands by my mouth. “Okay, Sansa! You can go now! Please give the rooster to Hagrid! He lost a few this year!” 

Sansa’s yellow eyes looked at me. She didn't react for a second before suddenly stiffening up and nearly hitting a wall. She twisted her body just in time to avoid a collision and flew away, giving me a nagging screech in the process.

“I’ll take a bath when I get out of here! Geez, what are you? My mother?” I said, rolling my eyes and examined the basilisk. Instead of the legless lizard from the film, she was a smooth scaled, dark green snake-like a demonic tree python. An obnoxiously sized hole near her nose and in her right eye socket from the sword piercing her armored scales. Her mouth hung agape, revealing dozens of sharp, pointy fangs with the looming threat of venom.

One thing that broke the magic of the basilisk? It was underwhelmingly small with its height matching the shed skin almost perfectly. No wonder I missed it's brain when I stabbed it. The snake was the size of a Titanoboa, similar girth as well and more realistically could have slithered through Hogwarts enormous pipes compared to the one in the films. It was a huge snake, no doubt about that, but I was expecting something… bigger? Something that could eat-a-dragon-big, possibly? The creature is ancient and reptiles grow until they die...

Ah well, tis the imagination of a child.

Cracking my neck I reached into her mouth, grabbed a fang and gave a sharp yank. The fang pulled out smoothly while I landed on my butt on the soaked floor. Even though I felt the basilisk’s blood caking my fingernails, I didn’t remove my gloves. I tried dunking my hands into the nearby water to get some of it off, but now I have soaked hands, dirty fingernails, and gloves that clung to my skin and made that scrunch noise when I moved my hands.

I set the Sword of Gryffindor on the ground and pulled out Tom Riddle’s diary and my pen. Clicking my pen and trying very hard not to get blood everywhere, I drew a very crude, childish drawing of a dead snake; Complete with x’s for eyes and a nice big gash on its face. As the tail of the snake began to vanish, I also drew a stick figure of myself, smiling victoriously as I hold up a shiny sword in one hand and a fang in the other with the diary at my feet.

“_Care to wager what this means, Tommy boy?_”

“IMPOSSIBLE! HOW COULD A MERE CHILD KILL A CREATURE OF SALAZAR SLYTHERIN?” I blinked slowly as the paper began to divulge into a maniac-like rant about how he was the heir. He raged about how my “mudblood mother’s stolen magic” should have made me inferior to him, and that he should have kille me as a baby, and blah blahdy blah blah. I would be surprised if not for the fact that this guy is supposed to represent a wizard Hitler. He has the intense ranting part down perfectly.

“_I’m going to stab you now._” 

"You will die by my hands Potter, I-"

I closed the book so I didn’t have to watch Tom try to weasel his way out of the mess he created for himself. Clenching the fang tightly in my hands, I plunged the venom into the diary and everything went white. Pain rushed to my scar like a thousand migraines on a thousand hangovers carving themselves like an iron poker that remained in the fire. I pulled out the fang and kept stabbing it over and over and over again until black-violet venom overflowed the multiple holes that were being made, staining my gloves and my robes in more unsavory substances. I stopped, only when the pain in my scar ceased.

The diary was beyond recognition, violent holes littered the surface of the leather bindings and the pages dyed an extreme violet. The only identifier of what it once was is the gold plaque with Tom Riddle’s name on it and the gold corner protectors.

And now... I can finally... _finally_ relax.

With a long, weary sigh I slowly pull myself up and shuffle to the basilisk and began to rip out teeth. With the diary and sword in my grasp, I was only able to collect six decent-sized fangs. Then, taking off my non-snake-gooped sock which immediately became dirty from my hands, I put one of the rear fangs in it so I didn’t stab myself. It was manageable size, the length of my palm and the width of an adult’s thumb at the base. With the mental note to disinfect and completely sanitize everything in my bag, I plopped it into the endless pit. 

Galleons well spent. I'm starting to understand why the ministry regulates them.

I began my trek out of the chamber. My right foot squelched while my left foot tapped until I accidentally stepped into some deeper water. So now my left foot also squelched along with my trouser leg completely soaked in water. The suction noises grew as my steps got slower, the adrenaline leaving my body. Snake blood and saliva covered me almost head to toe and my Slytherin patch was several shades of purple with more of the venom dripping from my face and onto my collar. I saw the world in red and purple. My arms now sore from using a sword, and the stress leaving made me wish for a bath… and then a nap… in the bath.

Please let me sleep in a bath.

Whoever said battling monsters was glorious and brave can have their grave pissed on by a dog with mange.

I barely took a step out of the main chamber when Snape’s furious presence was storming over to me, wand in hand. He stopped, nearly falling over a skull and stared at me with wide eyes and his mouth uncharacteristically wide open. 

I tried to wave, but my arms were full, so I settled for a tired smile and shaking my foot like a hand.

“Hi Professor… I killed the snek.” I tell the door to close in Parseltongue, but Snape’s paling face indicated he had seen the basilisk’s corpse. “The fangs are for you as an apology.”

“Nevermind apologizing to me. Are you hurt?” He rushed over, careful to not touch me as, like I am painfully aware, I am disgustingly dirty.

“I don’t know… everything aches and I smell gross… I think I pulled something hanging onto the snake.” I rolled my shoulders and winced. “I stabbed it in the nose… It’s only dead because my owl brought the rooster I bought in time. Can someone get her treats, please?”

Snape stood there mutely, brain seemingly halting all functions and trying desperately to reboot its system. He eventually regained his composure enough to have his familiar drawl back. “Worry about yourself, Mr. Potter. The Headmaster and other Head of House are waiting for us. We sent Ms. Lovegood and Ms. Weasley back to your other friends.”

“Is Lockhart there…?”

“Indeed he is, why?”

“He’s been obliviating other wizards to steal their adventures to write his books… he’s also a terrible teacher who can't write tests. He asks inappropriate questions about his magazine achievements. And he keeps touching my shoulder and getting in my personal space…” I would continue my tattle, but my neck was deciding my head was too heavy and it wasn’t getting paid enough to deal with it. “Can we go now? ‘M tired…”

Snape felt no need to argue with that, but he wordlessly used Wingardium Leviosa to carry everything that was in my arms. I followed him, each step felt heavier than the last and I only barely registered the fact that we were walking up the walls of the tube to the bathroom. The faint glow hinted that there was some kind of sticking charm keeping our feet there.

I stepped into the bathroom and told the sink in parseltongue to close. McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, Pomfrey, Dumbledore, and Lockhart surrounded me with McGonagall keeping the latter away. My legs gave out and I collapse against a sink with a sigh. Myrtle cackled within her toilet until Snape made her leave. 

“Sorry for taking the sword, Headmaster. Sorry for making you all worried. Sorry that your biggest achievement was to obliviate famous wizards to write your overpriced books, Professor Lockart,” Cue half of the professors giving Lockart dirty glares while the other half listened to my rattled apologies. “Sorry that I smell like a dead snake-”

“Harry…” Dumbledore said softly as he approached me, though definitely not making any moves to touch me. “There is no need to apologize. While reckless and dangerous,” Pomfrey finally stopped giving him a grim reaper stare, “you saved the school from a dangerous monster.”

“That you couldn’t identify.”

“Yes… yes, I never thought the possibility and that is all on my shoulders to carry that burden.” Dumbledore dipped his head. Sprout, Flitwick, and McGonagall were dragging Lockhart out as he seemed to be trying to open his mouth to say something stupid. “We may talk more in my office after you have bathed, eaten, and had a long rest in the hospital wing. May I tell your friends?”

“Please do, sir. The Malfoys too, otherwise Draco will dramatize it.” My eyes began to droop and Pomfrey was at my side, supporting my slowly going limp body. She seemed to be the only person that didn't care that half of the substances on me were more-than-likely hazardous. “I feel gross… I kicked the basilisk in the eye and it popped...”

Mid-collecting the fangs from the air, Snape gagged.

“It was going to hurt Sansa if I didn’t…” I explained even with Pomfrey trying to shush me.

"No more speaking, let's take these off." Pomfrey removed my glasses, color returning to my eyes but also removing my ability to see. "You need to rest."

“Sansa?” Dumbledore asked despite Pomfrey's attempts to get me to pass out. I faintly heard the witch let out an annoyed huff at the headmaster.

“My owl… no one hurts my owl. Hurt my owl and someone will die... Can someone give her treats? She helped.” Now standing up, I faintly heard Snape mutter something about me prioritizing my owl over myself. I lifted my sagging head to McGonagall when she re-entered the room. “I didn’t finish the essay on time… sorry, Professor.”

"Just get some rest, Mr. Potter." McGonagall said softly.

Madam Pomfrey pulled out her wand and waved it over my head, silencing my exhausting rambling and letting me finally get the nap I wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first start of Harry actively trying to change the plot. He's not necessarily changing the story itself right now, but instead trying to end the conflict early so that he can have a normal rest of the year. I am not ending the book yet. I have several more chapters left that are going to be used to have some fun with Hogwarts. One decision I made ended up with results that left me giddy with joy at how it turned out.
> 
> Also, as you can tell, Harry takes a more messy approach to things.
> 
> For those wondering about the legless lizard comment, watch the youtuber Snake Discovery's video on it. The basilisk in the movie is not a snake at all, but a lizard. I am going with the books description of the snake and official artwork as that is more serpent-like than whatever the heck the film made.
> 
> And yes, someone gave Sansa treats.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another monster down, another Christmas rolls around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Sorry for being late, I wasn't able to finalize this chapter until super late last night (school will do that to you) and I didn't want to post it until I had some sleep. Both myself and my beta are extremely busy with schoolwork so editing and finalizing the chapters are a matter of cooperating with our schedules.

Pomfrey refused visitors the entire time I rested. According to her, I woke up in the middle of my third bath -guess the smell refused to leave during the first two- and rambled to her to tell my friends that “I killed a big snake, no more stones, will hug all before or after Christmas, I love you” then promptly passed out again with a solid head-smack to the bathtub. 

She apparently relayed this message every time someone came and asked about me. Great, I’ve told both my professor and now every single one of my friends “love you”. Maybe I should have let the basilisk eat me.

“It’s a miracle the most you had were some bruises and scratches. Either luck was on your side or Madam Malkin's robes are sturdier than I thought.” Pomfrey said as she assisted in dressing me, though I insisted she waited until I had put my pants and trousers on. “The Headmaster is asking to have you in his office, I believe Lucius Malfoy is there with him. Do rest during Christmas.”

“Yes, Madam Pomfrey. I doubt the Malfoys will even let me go down the stairs without worrying. I’m sorry I always end up-”

I get pulled into a hug.

“-here?”

“Never apologize. While I wished you would stop getting injured, you saved so many people by doing the reckless thing you did. Thank you, Mr. Potter, for stopping more students from winding up in my cots frozen in time. But do try to lessen this habit, otherwise, I may make a section of my potions just for your visits.” She let me go and sent my dazed mind on my way. 

That felt… nice?

I made it to Dumbledore’s office without hassle as, by the time I recovered, students had already left the school for Christmas. I wish Pomfrey had let some of my friends in the Hospital Wing, Hermione must be worried sick! I'll need to send some letters.

“Harry,” Lucius’ voice rang out and I find both the handle of his cane and a gloved hand on my shoulder. He examines me closer then gives a quick squeeze of my shoulder. “Good, you seem uninjured. Narcissa nearly came here to hex the entire teaching staff when we received the letter.”

“Sorry to make you worry, Mr. Malfoy.” Even if the entire thing was your bloody fault. “It almost seems like I won’t be able to go a year without killing some massive deadly creature.”

“I suppose you're more Gryffindor than you thought if that's your conclusion to fighting a basilisk.” Lucius backed away, whacking something behind him to make it move and I hear the familiar squeak of Dobby. “Useless thing.”

“I assume Harry has arrived, based on your movements, Lucius?” Dumbledore got up from his desk, an amused gleam in his eyes as he looked at him. “Had your house-elf remained as still as you, I would have mistaken you as dead.”

Lucius’ jaw clenched and I am pushed forward. Gently, of course, Lucius would prefer to remain in good standing with his wife.

“I have already spoken to Lucius as…” Dumbledore eyes the Malfoy carefully. “He will be the one to escort you to the Malfoy Manor.”

“What did you talk about, sir?” I asked politely, trying to not look at the mutilated book right in front of me. Now that my head is cleared up, I realized that I might have gone overboard with the book. It looked like someone stacked a bunch of swiss cheeses then dunked it in purple dye... that must have been painful on Tom's end.

“This, Harry.” Dumbledore held up said book. “Peculiar dark magic was… linked to this diary, Voldemort’s magic specifically.” I hear the sound of metal clicking the ground as Lucius flinches so violently his cane moved. “It does not do well for such dark magic to be at Hogwarts, and that whoever was responsible… the consequences shall be severe, to say the least.”

Lucius' jaw tightened. Dobby was tugging my sleeve, trying to get my attention but I focused on Dumbledore.

“Of course, the magic has been extinguished thanks to Mr. Potter’s-” Oh, so I’m “Mr. Potter” around others? “-extreme handling.”

“Sorry about that, sir. I uh... was a little angry when I stabbed the diary. I even brought a... well, a souvenir.” I chuckled, reaching into my bag which made both adults pay close attention to the fact that I had a charmed bag. I'm surprised none of the adults have noticed until now, I've completely replaced my schoolbag for it and it's smaller than half of my textbooks.

“Narcissa and I were curious as to why you had a woman’s handbag…” Lucius muttered softly under his breath.

I pull out the sock which contained the basilisk fang. “I wanted to ask if I may keep it as… protection. Voldemort may have made dark items before and… well, I think the fang worked just fine.”

Dumbledore was about to say something when Mr. I-Need-to-Keep-the-Wife-Happy immediately seized his moment. “We will have that fashioned into a necklace for you to wear, sealed of course so you do not accidentally stab yourself or others." He paused for a beat. "If Dumbledore will allow it, of course.”

Dumbledore looked thoroughly amused.

“Professor Snape shall be experimenting with the venom, and _ if _ he can produce a proper antidote, then Mr. Potter will be permitted to keep it. I have also allowed him to collect tears from my friend, Fawkes,” He motions to infant phoenix that was happily eating treats, “as the main ingredient. Until then, Mr. Potter…” Dumbledore holds out his hand expectantly.

Knowing how to choose my battles, I place the fang into his palm. Dumbledore opened one of the many drawers in his desk and gingerly placed the venomous object into it, closing the drawer like a sealed fate.

“If that is all. Dumbledore,” Lucius and the Headmaster exchange head nods. “Harry, when you are finished with your business here, I will await you in the hallway to floo to the manor.”

“Yes, Mr. Malfoy.” I patiently waited for Lucius to leave the room so that I could change the subject and promptly avoid more talks of the basilisk. “Sir? Professor Lockhart?”

“No longer a professor. I am in the middle of hiring your new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, exchanging letters in fact with an interview to happen during the break. Lockhart will lose his credentials and I have already informed the Ministry of Magic of his actions against other wizards. Lucius was not pleased with the tales his son told him of Lockharts’ closeness with you.”

“I appreciate that…” I eye the diary, which still looked more like it belongs in a modern art museum to spread awareness of anger issues than be an actual book. “May I borrow that?”

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

Lucius was waiting for me with a quivering Dobby by his side. “Sorry for the wait, Mr. Malfoy, but I believe you forgot this.” I hold out Tom Riddle’s diary to him, keeping a good distance from him and Dobby.

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about Harry,” Lucius responded cooly, but I heard his gloved hands clench his cane tighter.

“I think you do, sir. You put this in Ginny’s cauldron. I know you didn’t know what it would cause… but you gave something that was related to Voldemort, someone got petrified and I was nearly killed. My friendship with Draco is the only reason I didn't tell Dumbledore why this ended up in the hands of children. No amount of bribing would get you out of trouble if I had said anything.” I said with a straight face. It was a staring contest, one that I was determined not to lose.

Lucius, stiffly, took the diary and then promptly shoved it into Dobby’s hands. With a twirl that made his hair shine in the winter sun, he began the process of what he thought was escorting a child and an elf to the intended fireplace.

I nod my head at the diary to Dobby, and he opened it.

“Master has given Dobby a sock?” Dobby quietly said, marveling at the -now clean- black sock. Lucius spun around and his eyes widen, showing off his grey eyes to their full capacity. “Master has presented Dobby with clothes! Dobby is free.”

I quickly pull out my wand just as Lucius began to look at me with the scariest expression I never wanted to see on his face again. “_ STUPEFY! _” 

A jet of red light hit Lucius square in the chest, sending him flying backwards and landing on the stone ground completely unconscious. I stood there, frozen in place, mind running a mile a minute as select choice words ran through it like a marathon on Redbull. I’m so dead. So… _ so _ dead if Lucius wakes up. I need to think quickly!

“Harry Potter has freed Dobby!”

Oh, right, Dobby is here too.

“How can Dobby ever repay him?” Dobby tilted his head, his smile making his large green eyes scrunch in pure joy and utter gratitude.

I blinked a few times as a voice in my head demanded I focus on Lucius first and not the elf, lowering my wand hand and smile down at the house-elf. “There is nothing to be repaid, Dobby. Just focus on your life,” I kneel to his height, startling him slightly. “I can deal with the Malfoys easily.”

“But there must be something, right?” Dobby bounced a little on his feet. It was like a newfound energy graced him for the first time in a long, long time.

I think for a moment, pulling every string of knowledge I can think of for the next… six years or so. “I may have an idea, but I’m going to be treating it like a job for you.”

The word “job” seemed to gloss over Dobby’s mind as he grinned. “Whenever Harry Potter needs Dobby, just say Dobby’s name, sir!”

“I’ll do that. Now… about Mr. Malfoy…” I straightened up and walked to the unconscious man while also frantically messing up my hair to look like a toddler had a tantrum and took it out on me. “Pretend to be upset, if you can. Also, send the diary to Dumbledore.”

I point my wand at Lucius’ head and I hear Dobby snap his fingers. ‘Think of this like Transfiguration, Harry. You are altering his mind… just focus on what you remember from the last few minutes. Do _ not _ be Lockhart… focus… and…’

“_ Obliviate _.”

Smoky wisps danced around Lucius and I breathed a sigh of relief when the charm worked for me. Dobby was fake sobbing into the sock at a strong intensity. I kneeled beside Lucius and began to frantically shake his shoulder. “Mr. Malfoy?! Mr. Malfoy, are you alright?!”

Lucius groaned and opened his eyes, somewhat irritated looking. “What happened?” He sat up, holding his head and glaring daggers at Dobby and growling when he noticed the sock.

“Sir? You don’t remember?” I helped him up like the dutiful little Slytherin that I am and brushed off one of his arms. “I told you how Dobby was the one responsible for the Bludger incident and you were so disgusted that a servant would harm the friend of your son, that you borrowed one of my socks to free him. You planned on getting a new house-elf over Christmas, one that was deemed more appropriate to serve your family.”

“D-Dobby is so… so _ sorry _, Harry Potter!” I winced, pulling my head close to my shoulders. That… sounded extremely real.

“I see…” Lucius eyes me and then Dobby, nodding in satisfaction to the idea that I was being honest with him. “And I ended up on the ground… how?”

“Cornish Pixies,” I answered with a blink. “I guess someone released the ones Lockhart kept and some flew and tripped you while the rest were pulling my hair. You must have hit your head, sir. ”

A hum left Lucius’ throat, amused by the sobbing house-elf, “Very well. Come along, Harry.”

Lucius swirled around, seemingly fixing his hair in that one movement and strutted out. I followed behind, trying to mimic the long strides while also giving a thumbs up to Dobby as I leave. I try not to flinch when I hear the familiar crack of Dobby’s magic teleporting him away.

“Mr. Malfoy? Why not treat your next house-elf with more kindness?” I ask the man, and while he’s thinking of a response, I go into a ramble. “People that work for others tend to put in more effort into what they do. While staying with my aunt and uncle, they’re always barking orders and just being rude.”

I scrunch in my neck and drop my tone to sound more like Vernon. “Bring me my coffee! Why is the bacon not ready?! You useless boy, do the work properly or no meals for you! Hit him with your Smelting stick, Dudley, you need practice in beating others after all!”

Lucius’ shoulders tense and I hear an inhale, so I drop the act. I think I'm talking too much but I can't stop rambling.

“But when I came to Hogwarts and made friends, people were finally using things like ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to me… I felt like what I was doing for others was good and it made me want to perform my best for them! I dunno, I know your family has traditions but…”

“That will be enough, Harry. You do not have to worry about what my family does, just focus your time with my son.” Lucius looks at me with a calm expression, no anger or frustration in his eyes or tone. We make it to our intended fireplace, which was in Snape’s office though the professor was nowhere to be seen. As usual, Lucius had me go through first just so he knew I didn’t mess up my words.

On the bright side, I didn’t land on my face this time!

Narcissa was waiting for us in the lounge area, relaxing in a silk day robe over an elegant black gown and her hair perfectly pinned up as always. She took a single step towards the fireplace when a blur of blond rushed past her and I found myself in a bone-crushing hug.

“Draco! Can’t_ breathe! _” I yelled out, trying to push Draco away but all that succeeded in was giving Draco an easier time to cling.

“Good! You deserve it for making us worry about you! Hello, Father,” Draco pulls me away from the fireplace, still not letting me go. “Why do you have to do such reckless and stupid things?”

“No one else was going to do anything… Besides, I think I can make this a new hobby.”

“Killing creatures that are both illegal to breed and are known wizard killers?” Draco asked with a blank voice, his head resting on my shoulder, a subtle reminder that he will one day be taller than me.

“I’m thinking about targeting a dragon next and relive the days of knights in shining armor.” I joked with a tinge of a laugh. In reality, I definitely want to invent a spell to kill dementors, even if I have to spend the entirety of my third year reading therapy books to learn it.

“While the boys are discussing Harry’s questionable hobbies, I must go to the Ministry,” I heard Lucius talk to his wife. Draco’s blocking my vision but I swear there was a kiss. “We must replace our servant. The useless creature is why we had Draco sending us a letter about Harry losing his leg.”

“Dobby did what?” Draco let go of me to look at his father, then at me. “He was the one to make the Bludger try to kill you?”

“He didn’t want me to get hurt because of the Chamber of Secrets. Come on, let’s go up to your room, I’m gonna need your help writing letters to everyone.”

Draco’s mouth dropped open but he complied and followed behind, muttering something about “Stupid Potter fighting stupid killer snakes in a stupid lost chamber with a stupid stolen sword...”

Wow, that’s a lot of stupid.

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

Before Christmas rolled around, the Malfoys had a new house-elf. It was a female one wearing a more pleasant tea cozy named Tinly with large dark brown eyes and a strict maid type personality. Lucius instructed his wife and son that to avoid a repeat of last time, this elf will be treated strictly but more gently.

I’m polite to house-elves, I was naturally omitted from this conversation.

Tinly had a strong sense of pride in her abilities to work without being seen or noticed, skilfully avoiding the sights of her new masters. The only indication that she even existed was the lean pile of laundry on my bed and waking up to warm hot cocoa at my bedside. Apparently, Blaise’s mum recommended her to the Malfoys. The work shows.

“Merry Christmas, Tinly,” I spoke out to the void in which maybe she would hear me and took a sip of my warm cocoa. Yum, she added peppermint! 

I slipped on some slippers and made the slow shuffle to Draco’s room with my parcel in hand, sipping my cocoa every few seconds while also never letting it be more than a few centimeters from my face. No matter how warm the Malfoys believed their house to be, it will always feel cold in the morning to me. Each step taken was like stepping on the snow outside without shoes on, the cold was like needles. I should have worn some socks.

I entered Draco’s room to find him already awake, silk green pajamas as always and hair perfectly combed back. Sometimes I wonder if he wakes up extra early because he doesn’t want me to see him with messy hair. He too was drinking hot cocoa, but instead of peppermint I faintly smelled cinnamon from his cup.

“Mornin’, Merry Christmas.” I greeted him, closing the door behind me and joining him on his bed so I’m farther away from the cold wooden floor. I set his present next to him and took another sip of my cocoa. I'm starting to taste more peppermint than cocoa though.

“Merry Christmas.” I soon found a package in my lap, rectangle and roughly the length of my head. “Don’t worry… I remembered last year and picked out something I’m actually happy to get you.”

“I dunno Draco, I’m enjoying last year’s present.” I set my cocoa down on Draco's bedside and threw out my right leg, which proudly displayed the anklet that has never once left my body except to be cleaned. Draco’s face pinched up like he swallowed something sour and rotten at the same time then was told it was just the appetizer. “Come on, you have to admit it looks good.”

“Harry, you’re a boy, I’m not about to compliment your ankles.”

“So if I was a girl you would?” I questioned, not once putting my leg down.

“...”

“... Sooooo…?”

“Shut up and open your bloody present, Potter.”

I laughed and opened the package, staring at the content with the hamster wheel in my head taking a lunch break.

“Pansy’s idea. Everyone picked out a color and I had mother order the set. They’re spelled so they won’t fall out when you finally grow your hair out long enough.” Draco explained, casually reaching into the box to pull out one of the many hair ribbons. It was emerald green which shined in the lighting. “I picked out this one. Pansy's ribbon is violet.”

“Remind me to thank everyone…” I quietly say while holding a creme colored ribbon covered in various silly-looking sweets and water balloons. “The twins?”

“Yep.”

I smiled and examined each ribbon. I could tell which one of my friends picked out which color. Hermione got me periwinkle which faded into sky blue at the tips. Neville, red like his Remembrall and a velvet texture. I'm guessing Blaise picked out the brighter green ribbon and Luna's was galaxy designed, a butterbeer cork skillfully attached to the center, which would be displayed if I made it into a bow. The box itself was carved wood, with plenty of room for more ribbons to be added in the future.

“I’m sensing this will be a trend later on,” I happily accept the green ribbon from Draco and began to mess with my hair. “Take a look at your present, Draco.”

“I’m still using the present you got me last year, my father was talking about how my handwriting has improved since I got it-...” Draco stopped, staring at the large, restored book in his hands. Dark water blue with carved runes that were soaked in red on the front with the back is a carved imprint of a flower that I’ve never seen before. “Harry… how?”

“What?” I stop fiddling with my hair and lean over him to look at the book. “Is it something you didn’t want? I thought that you liked potions and-”

“This book hasn’t been sold in stores in _ ages _! I’ve only seen one copy of it before in Professor Snape’s private collection and he never lets anyone touch it!” Draco exclaimed, shoving the potions book in my face. It was one of the books I had taken from the Room of Requirements and after using several spells to restore it, I thought Draco would like it. It didn’t have a name or author on it so I assumed it was someone’s private notes, but seemed real enough considering it had instructions on Felix Felicis and Polyjuice Potions. 

“Oh, I didn’t know.”

“Of course you didn’t,” Draco rolled his eyes with a grin and flipped through the pages. “Some of the ingredients in here you can’t even buy legally in Diagon Alley anymore-”

Maybe I should not have given this book to Draco.

“Where did you get this?”

“I know a place,” I answered vaguely, going back to my hair. “Maybe I’ll take you there eventually.”

“You’d better, I’m going to show this to father and mother. Wait right here!” And so, like an excited kid who just got the newest Nerf, Draco bolted out of his room and called for his parents. I shrugged nonchalantly and reached for my mug, letting out some happy noises when I discovered it refilled with extra marshmallows.

I should send Sirius a letter now.

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

_ Dear Sirius, _

_ You said to write to you when something happens at school and well… a lot has happened. Our DADA professor was an idiot and a faker, Gilderoy Lockhart is his name. I helped him get sacked and Dumbledore is looking at replacements for the remainder of the year, hopefully, someone who isn’t a complete lunatic. _

_ Another important thing is that the Chamber of Secrets opened. It used to belong to Salazar Slytherin and it housed a basilisk, which was petrifying muggle-borns but the problem has been taken care of! I um… stole the Sword of Gryffindor from Headmaster Dumbledore’s office, went into the Chamber (by the way I can speak Parseltongue, who would have thought?) and stabbed it… in the nose… and then I kicked its eye out and gave it a heart attack via rooster. Oddly, I came out relatively undamaged unlike my first time going to a Quidditch game. Another time for another letter. _

_ In the letter, I included a picture a student took of me so you can see what I look like. I’m growing my hair out, so it’s longer now than in the picture. I also have my pets in the photo. The large, beautiful, brilliant snowy owl is Sansa, my feather baby. The rat is Scabbers, he’s Sansa’s enrichment toy and tracking practice. He’s old, rude, and missing a toe. Ron says he's been in the family for ten years but I call rubbish on the idea, no rat could live that long. _

_ I hope to hear from you soon, but I have to cut this letter short. Draco’s on his way and I think he wants to test out a potion in the book I got him. _

_ Merry Christmas, _

_ Harry _

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

Attaching the letter to Sansa’s leg and sending her off a barn owl perched on the window frame. It stuck its legs out and flew off the moment I took the note away. Draco was flipping through his new book with utter fascination, not paying much mind as he thought I was sending a letter to Dumbledore about the Chamber of Secrets. I opened the note and smirked.

_ This note is giving Harry Potter, Second year Slytherin, permission to check out Metamorphosis and Animagus: The Ultimate Transformation by Gasper Wythinghall. _

_ Minerva McGonagall _

I wonder if Professor Sprout needs help cultivating the mandrakes for the petrification cure?

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

**Side story #3: Christmas ball**

I fiddled with the non-existing cuffs of my sleeves of the dress robes Lucius and Narcissa bought me during the summer. It was comfortable but it just… it felt so _ bulky _. The tux part fits snugly against my body, but the actual robe, the “dress robe” part of the outfit hung over my shoulders like a bathrobe two sizes too big. The tailcoat, which I thought would billow out when I walked, made more of a parachute than some action-flick style trench coat. 

It… didn’t feel like me.

“Harry, the guests are about to arrive, are you dressed?” Draco asked while knocking on my door. Not even a second passed and he was pushing it open and giving me a once-over. “Oh good, it fits.”

“Yeah…” I responded, returning to stare at myself in the mirror. Draco swaggered over, a certain green ribbon in hand and his hands were immediately in my hair. “This just feels… I don’t feel like myself.”

“That’s expected,” Draco gathered up my hair and gave a slight twist to keep it still. He began to wrap the ribbon around the hair. “You didn’t design the robes. This was more to give you something nice to wear for the Christmas ball.”

“I suppose…”

“Oh stop sulking. When you’re older you can design your own dress robes for balls.” Draco took a step back to admire his handiwork. The bow was tied just at the nape of my neck, pretty accurate as my hair was still a few months away before it was at my wanted length. “Pansy is going to love this.”

“Do I have to dance?” I look at Draco, now feeling nervous about being around adults and potentially children I’ve never met before.

“Do you want to dance?” Draco responded, a hand on his hip.

“Dunno, I’ve only danced with Pansy…” I shrugged, I don’t know why I’m feeling so down. Things have been splendid but I just... don't feel very comfortable with the idea of a fancy party.

Draco tilted his head to the side and looked me up and down. He gave me his trademark Malfoy grin and patted my back. “Well, I know Pansy will want a dance. She’s been talking to me about how she hopes you do that dip again…” He examines my face and his eyes seem to light up in some form of recognition. Without another word, he begins to guide me to the Malfoy ballroom.

Yeah, they have a ballroom. To be fair, I’ve only ventured into… maybe ten rooms the two years I’ve been here?

Draco kept me close to him as we weaved through the increasing number of guests arriving, all of them wearing exquisite dress robes of winter-tone colors and talking stiffly to each other, a few are already dancing. I can’t exactly count how many purebloods were in the manor at this moment, but I know two things that were fact. The first one was that there was _ definitely _ no one from the Weasley clan here. The second was that I am pretty sure I am the only half-blood here, at least the only one that can trace a muggle within two generations down my family tree.

We reached Narcissa and she was conversing with a woman who, based on a certain girl attached to her skirt, was Pansy’s mum. The woman was the spitting image of Pansy, but slightly angular in her jawline and sporting a deep blue dress robe while Pansy was wearing a green dress robe. I guess dress robes look awkward on all twelve-year-olds... except Draco because _ of course _, he looks good in those clothes. 

“Zinnia, allow me to introduce Harry Potter.” Narcissa beckoned us to approach and I tuck myself close to the two Malfoys which earned a snicker from Pansy. Narcissa put a hand on my back and slowly nudged me forward so I wasn't being rude and hiding from a guest. “He’s a little shy.”

“How adorable! Come here child, let me have a good look at you. I promise, my daughter’s bite is worse than mine,” Zinnia chuckled behind her hand when Pansy let out an undignified “mother!”. I approach the woman, eyeing her carefully. My only problem with purebloods is I don’t know who will side with Voldemort when he returns… not if, _ when _. “May I? I've been curious to see it ever since your story was told.”

I lean back from her approaching hand coming towards my forehead. Not comfortable!

“Mother, he doesn’t like people looking at his scar!” Pansy protests and I am now yanked into her arms. I’m sensing a pattern with the women in my life and I am not complaining in the slightest. Hugs are nice. “We are going to dance!”

I give Draco a pleading look as I am being pulled away from my safety zone and soon found my hand on Pansy’s waist and her hand on my shoulder. “I’m so sorry about my mum, she’s always wanted to meet you in person after I sent her letters. I may have spent a little too much time talking about how much of a flatterer you were that she jumped too quickly.”

“Uh… it’s uh… wha-” I blinked a few times, finally noticing that we were doing that weird half-waltz where the dancers just shift from foot to foot in a circle. “Wh-what just happened?”

“My mum tried to look at your scar and I made you dance with me, silly!” Pansy laughed and soon our steps became wider and we eventually transitioned to a proper ballroom waltz. I took one of her hands and spun her which she let out a joyful cry. “Whee! I love it when you do that. But I’ll have to dance with Draco when this is over, look.”

Pansy leads the dance just enough so I could look at Draco around Pansy’s shoulder, we return to the subtle shifting instead of wide steps.

Draco was smiling tightly as he conversed with Pansy’s mum. He snuck glances at us and then in another direction -which turns out had Blaise with his mum- but continued to talk. Narcissa stood nearby, a glass of champagne held delicately in her hand and I would see her move her lips slightly then take a small sip; sometimes she would lightly run a finger over Draco's head while talking. I bit my laughter down when Zinnia reached down and pinched Draco’s cheek, laughing at how he scrunched his face and hid behind his mum.

Poor Draco.

The ballroom music reached its conclusion and I gave Pansy a twirl and ended our dance with a dip. When she straightened, I took her hand and kissed the back of it. “Save him, please. I’ll be fine on my own.”

“Alright Harry darling, if you need saving go ask Blaise for a dance~!” Pansy sang out and briskly walked back to Draco. 

I left the dance floor and absentmindedly began to wander the room. I’m not familiar with formal gatherings and with the lack of technology... there was a scarily small amount of things to do at a ball that didn’t involve dancing, eating, or having adults asking the same questions over and over again. I thought children were separated to another room after all of the pleasantries were done with?

The latter was most apparent when I finally located another Malfoy, this time it was Lucius. Well… more like he located me. I was trying to figure out what drinks were not alcoholic.

“Harry,” Lucius’s hand slammed onto my shoulder in a way that didn’t hurt per se but demanded my immediate and full attention. He paused while I clenched my hand over my chest right over my heart and took a deep breath. “There is someone here who has been asking to meet you.”

I am turned around to face an older man with a receding hairline and a chin that doubled when his head was lowered. There was an air of a man who once had strength but now hid behind a false sense of power which wafting off of him like the smell of the martini in his hand.

I am going to take a guess that this is Fudge.

“Harry, this is Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic.” I knew it! He didn’t seem like the kind of guy to drink martinis though… if anything, he seems like the kind of guy who gets so nervous around others he’ll grab the closest drink just to- Ohhhhhhh… “Cornelius, this is Harry Potter.”

“Yes, yes I am quite aware of who this young man is. Hello, my boy,” Fudge shot out his hand and I shook it. Weak grip, loose wrist, tight shoulder. “Oh! Strong grip you have there!”

“Thank you?” I stuck close to Lucius, who did not relieve his grip on my shoulder. I feel him look over at the drinks table, wand in his other hand.

“Tell me,” Fudge started, trying to keep up energy though he took a reluctant sip of his drink. “How are you liking the wizarding world? After all, you have been raised by muggles.”

“Well, it’s… nice. A little old-fashioned in terms of culture- oh, thank you, Mr. Malfoy,” I nod up at the man as he puts a glass of something fizzing and yellow in my hands. I take a sip- yum! Apple cider! “Anyway, it’s a little traditional in its views but I’m adjusting thanks to the Malfoys and my friends in school. Magic is... something extraordinary.”

“Indeed! And I’m sure you’ll be figuring out what you want to be when you leave Hogwarts. Perhaps you would like to become an employee at the Ministry of Magic?” Fudge chuckles but his tone expected a good answer. “Your father was a skilled Auror after all.”

I take a very, very long sip while I analyzed this man. _ This _ is who's running the magical community? He can’t even shake a child’s hand properly! Then again, this is the same man that fell for Lucius’ charm and money, kept Sirius locked away in Azkaban without a trial, allowed Dumbledore to leave me at the Dursleys’… oh, and if Voldemort returns, I doubt he’s gonna listen to me until I make him look at Voldyshorts in the eyes. Am I forgetting someone? Right! Umbridge. He hired her. Overall, this man was about as weak as every other leader afraid to lose power, even I could overthrow him if I studied politics.

Hmm… I’ll just amp up the childish side of me.

“Actually, I want to become a professor at Hogwarts!” I chip out after a moment of thinking. I kept my smile bright and cheerful while the light in Fudge’s eyes drained.

“Oh… I see.” Fudge said awkwardly, eyes shifting over to Lucius as if he could change my mind. Unfortunately for Fudge, Lucius pats my head to get me to look up. I can not wait for puberty to kick in so I’m taller.

“Discuss that with your Head of House, Harry. Based on what I have heard from Draco you are an excellent teacher,” Lucius praised with his chin tilted upward slightly. 

“I don’t think Professor Snape would agree with that… he probably wouldn’t like that I’d no longer call him ‘sir’ if I get hired.” I chuckled with a shrug, only to let out a yelp when someone hooks their arm under mine and is pulled away from the adults. Lucius’ expression never changed, save for a slight sharpening of the eyes but Fudge seemed… somewhat paler than before. 

The color suits him I have to admit that.

“Why did neither Draco nor Pansy tell me you were learning how to dance?” Blaise spun me around so I was facing him, looking absolutely offended.

“Uh… I don’t… know?” My voice cracked and I turtled my head close to my body.in an attempt to shrink away. “They’ve been pretty good at teaching me though and I didn’t step on Pansy’s foot the entire dance too.”

“That _ dance _,” Blaise’s face scrunched up like he just ate a bad lemon, “was the blandest waltz I have ever had to watch. You’re learning how to dance from a true expert!”

“Hah?” Was the only intelligent thing to escape my mouth before I’m grabbed by the waist and was forced to step with the boy otherwise I would have fallen on my face. “Shouldn’t I learn how to lead?”

“How are you going to learn how to dance with a girl if you don’t learn how they move first? You’ll learn the leading steps once you master how to follow.” Blaise straightened his shoulders and inhaled sharply. “Now… we dance!”

Hades help me.

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

My legs gave out the second I was standing in front of my bed, feeling heartbeats in both of them. I’ll give Blaise credit where it's due, he can dance about as well as a Disney prince and is as smooth as anyone of noble birth should be. I can safely say that I do _ not _ enjoy being lifted off the ground though, it’s no different than being put on a broom in my opinion.

“Can’t tell if you’re a better lead or a better follow,” I heard Draco’s voice as he enters the room, flopping onto the bed as well with a sigh. “Mother had the ball be more simple since you’d probably be uncomfortable with a full-scale ball.”

I stare at Draco with painfully wide eyes. That… was simple?!

Draco remained quiet for a moment then let out a laugh. “I’m kidding, Harry. No, despite what people say, purebloods don’t tend to hold balls and galas outside of weddings or celebrations. Usually, if it’s for neither of those two, it means someone is trying to find their kid a fiance.”

“Which reason was for this one?” I asked, pushing myself up to a sitting position and crossing my legs.

“Celebration. This was to accept you into the world of the purebloods, even if you spent most of your time with people you were familiar with,” Draco stated. “You could argue that my parents were making a statement to the other pureblood families and the ministry.”

“I guess that’s one way to put it…” I lean back until I was flat on my back but my legs still crossed. “Did you and Pansy really have to leave me to the device of Blaise? He’s ruthless with his teaching, I can still feel everything and nothing at the same time.”

“You had to learn somehow. Pansy’s job was to just make sure you knew how to not step on anyone’s feet,” Draco also joined in on the game of “who can take up the most bed space” and seemed to settle on the idea of not sleeping in his room. “Mother taught me how to dance and Pansy learned from a tutor, Blaise is from three generations of purebloods that breathe dancing.”

“Huh… no wonder, he seemed like he was going to murder me for dancing so plainly,” I muttered. “I didn’t know his family was so big on dancing.”

“How do you think his mum managed to get married so many times?” Draco chuckled, “Besides that, Blaise thinks dancing is the best way to develop your body while studying is best for the mind. I remember when we were children during holidays where he would dance with different girls and compliment them, even if they stepped on his foot.”

“Learn something new every day…”

“Mhm…” I hear Draco shift around. “I’m sleeping here tonight.”

“Can’t you sleep in your own bloody bed? I want my space.” I shove my foot under his stomach and tried to roll him off. All I ended up with was warm feet.

“You’ll have it back tomorrow,” Draco’s voice became muffled and I looked up to find him burying his face in my pillow.

I rolled out of bed and went to brush my teeth. When I got back, there was an extra pillow on my designated side of the bed with a pair of brand new slippers, silver with white clouds on them. On the slippers was a note that said “_ Tinly informed me that you were displeased by the cold floor, I hope this helps. Merry Christmas - Narcissa _”.

I smiled softly, putting the slippers on the floor so that I could wear them in the morning. “Thank you… to both of you.” I curled up in the blankets and let sleep take over…

Until Draco kicked me in the back. The Malfoy shall now be forced to let me use his back as my pillow instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dobby is finally free and Harry performed the obliviate charm correctly, helps that he can visualize it in his mind rather than winging it.  
A lot has happened in this chapter and even more is gonna happen in the next chapter. You all get to learn who Dumbledore hired to replace Lockhart! I'm excited to see your reactions to their arrival.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new DADA professor has been introduced!

** 3rd person **

Sirius smiled tiredly while reading the newest letter from Harry, resting his back against the freezing walls of his prison cell. Of course, Jame’s son would go after a monster to save his friends, but it would be nice if the boy didn’t try to give him a heart attack. What, in the name of Merlin was Dumbledore doing? Sirius felt sorry for the professors at Hogwarts, this was a James 2.0 but part Slytherin. He reread the letter, there was a picture?

Sirius dug into the envelope and found the promised picture, barely the size of the palm of his hand. Tears pricking the corner of his sunken eyes as he traced the face of his godson. The boy was the spitting image of his father if James grew his hair out... except for his eyes, those were all Lily’s doing. If only he could be there to tell Harry himself. Telling him though a letter will just have to make do.

Harry in the photo was trying to pose for the picture, but then the snow owl -Sansa, Sirius reminded himself- would nip at his hair and he would silently laugh and kiss her beak. Held tightly in his other hand was a shabby rat-

Sirius paused, rereading the letter and then looked back at the picture. There was no need for a dementor to appear to let the fear sink in and the happiness drain away, the picture did the job for them. His hands shook as he took a long, deep breath, only for the panic to immediately return.

That was Pettigrew. Harry was_ holding _Pettigrew in his hands! Harry was in danger, his godson, his _Bambi _was in danger!

Sirius’ heart raced as he frantically looked around his cell. He needed to think about this, figure out a flaw in the prison's cells. He needed to get out of there and find Harry!

He needed to kill that rat!

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

**Harry**

_ Harry, _

_ I should be more specific when I write you letters. When I said to try not to fight any more trolls, my words also reached out to all dangerous monsters, at least not until you’re old enough to be called an adult. At that point, you have no reason to listen to anything other adults say. If I was there, I’d be both scolding you and praising you for what you did. _

_ Thank you for sending me the picture, you look so much like your father. But you also have your mother’s eyes, both in color and intellect. Your house should be proud to have you there. Have you considered adopting a dog? While it’s unusual for a student to have one at Hogwarts, I remember a student with a dog and they make loyal pets which would be an improvement on that rat you have. _

_ Stay warm this winter. _

_ Sirius Black _

“Huh…” I mutter to myself, reading the letter and then replacing it with one written by Fred, George, and Ron all on one page. The letter was surprisingly calm with a few words written a little shakier than others. Maybe it didn’t notice Peter? No, that’s ridiculous- if he could spot Peter on a tiny speck on a picture of the Weasley family then he can definitely see Peter when I have his paw with the missing finger on full display. 

I’d bet my knowledge of this world that he’s just writing this letter to not seem suspicious.

I pretended that I was focusing on the Weasley's letter, laying upside down on Draco’s bed. Draco decided my stomach was the perfect pillow to use while he read his new potions book and I felt his head shift. 

“‘Huh’ what? Did something happen to the Weasleys? New family member perhaps?” Draco commented, his chuckle turned into a groan when I swung my leg to kick him.

“Very funny. No, they’re asking if your mum has been leaving the house frequently. Mrs. Weasley keeps leaving but won’t say where and their dad isn’t saying anything. Ron’s complaining that their dad just looks at them and laughs then goes to work.”

Draco thinks for a moment.

“Mother has left a few times, father won’t say where.” He cranes his neck to look at me. “Think its related?”

“Possibly…”

“They might be going to the Ministry to argue about your home life. Mother is still upset that you’re living with your muggle relatives.” Draco rolls over so he’s off me and then grabs my shirt, pulling me up. “Stop rushing the blood to your head.”

I sit perfectly still while everything fought to return to normal. “Sorry?”

“You…” Draco sighed, rolling his eyes, which landed on the clock. “We have to go back to Hogwarts soon anyway. Turn around.”

I comply and immediately feel hands in my hair. Draco tugged and pulled at my hair, occasionally pausing to put my bangs back into place then resuming his tugging. Then, he took the emerald green ribbon he asked me to bring with me and tied my hair back into a ponytail, some hair falling free and framing my face but the rest remained. 

“I don't mind turning this into a morning routine, your hair is surprisingly soft... Excellent color with my ribbon.” Draco said more to himself than to me, sounding pleased with his work.

“I can do my own hair you know,” I quickly scramble to get away from him, readjusting my bangs just in case. He laughs. "Let's just go, we'll miss the train.

Lucius is the one to take us to the Hogwarts Express to return to the school. I kept looking around for Narcissa. Surely she would be here to see her son off back to Hogwarts? 

“Where’s mother?” Draco finally voices my confusion, though a little more snippy.

“Your mother had some important business to attend to. On the train, boys.” Lucius pushed us with his cane onto the train and watched us leave. The two of us exchanged looks before shrugging and finding the carts containing our friends, parting ways so I could hang out with the Lions plus Luna. 

“Ron,” I start, throwing my arms back so they rest on the heads of the seats. Comfortably, both arms were now being used as headrests for Luna and Hermione. I think I saw a Hufflepuff do a double-take as he walked by. “Did your mum see you all off?”

“No, dad was with us. He said mum had ‘important business to do’ and wouldn’t answer any of our questions.” Ron crossed his arms with a huff. Neville sheepishly smiling at the Weasley before returning to his position of starting at the window.

“Huh… that is almost word for word what Draco’s father said to us.”

We all exchanged looks for a while, no one saying anything. My eyes glazed over, staring past Ron's head which he didn't pay any mind. Could they possibly be… naaaaahhhh. That would actually be a smart move if it was the case!

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

“If people don’t stop giggling I’m gonna make it rain gravy,” I mutter darkly as I glare daggers at a group of older Slytherins. That’s the eighth group that’s looked at us and started giggling. What made it even weirder was that they would be whispering, then take a quick pause to look at the Gryffindor table and then go back to giggling. “The bloody hell is so hilarious?”

“Hopefully it involved whatever Dumbledore is about to say, look.” Blaise points at the podium and Dumbledore has left his place at the teacher’s table -weird how there are two empty seats- and held up his hands to get us all to shut up.

“I have… some announcements to make. First, due to Harry Potter's outstanding courage… the monster within the Chamber of Secrets has been killed.”

Hiding. I am hiding. Why is everyone clapping? Please make the clapping stop.

“Professor Sprout is growing the mandrakes as we speak. So, in time, those that have been petrified shall join us once again.” Dumbledore nods to me in thanks, which I barely see as I have sunk almost completely under the table. Blaise kicks my leg to make me sit back up. “Second, as I am sure many of you have seen in the papers; Professor Lockhart will no longer be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts.”

The cheering increases in volume and masculinity, almost all sounds of protests were feminine. I stretched my neck to confirm that Hermione was preoccupied with some salad.

Dumbledore continued, “I was fortunate enough to find replacement professors-”

Did he just use a plural noun?

“-to teach us the rest of the year. If they would be so kind as to remove their_ Notice Me Not _ charms, may I introduce Professor Malfoy and Professor Weasley!”

The apparent spell broke and there, sitting in the presumed empty chairs, was Narcissa and Molly. The two stood up and it was like looking at night and day sitting side-by-side. Narcissa stood with the fluidity of water and the dignity of a woman in high-status, face placid; while Molly shot out of her seat like a rocket and was practically bouncing where she stood, all smiles and energy. 

There was clapping, but not from me.

Or Draco…

Or the entire Weasley clan actually. Save for Percy, who’s hands moved at a snail’s pace and his expression matching the rest of our faces.

“I think I figured out why people were laughing…” I muttered to Draco blankly.

“Uh-huh… we are either going to learn a lot in a very short amount of time… or none at all,” Draco spoke as if his mouth was made of sandpaper. He reached over and took my cup of vanilla black tea and nearly snorted it with how fast he took a drink. I think his tongue burning broke him out of his stupor. “Merlin’s beard, Harry! Do you have to drink this stuff halfway to boiling?”

“Actually," I give him a side glance, "it is boiling. Hence why I haven’t touched it yet, Draco.”

"Ugh... nasty," Draco complained, his face scrunched. He set the cup down and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "You're absolutely addicted to this stuff."

I mean, he's not wrong. I'm pretty sure I'm addicted to caffeine at this point.

Dumbledore raised his hand to cease the clapping and gave a polite nod to the two pureblood matriarchs. Narcissa sat down while Molly was still smiling and waving. Molly blinked a few times, look at Narcissa, then promptly sat down with her cheeks burning red and giggling to herself, making a comment to Snape.

Snape looked like he needed a glass of firewhiskey and a very long chat with Lucius and Auther.

I ducked my head to quietly eat my food with Draco also hiding in a futile attempt to not be spotted by his mother. Our friends were snickering, but otherwise trying to be quiet as to avoid our potential wrath while the rest of the school were whispering frantically. Some were excited to have two professors, others were questioning if _ certain students_ would receive favoritism due to _connections_ with the professors. Honestly, it was a load of rubbish and-

“Fred! George! Don’t you dare tip Percy’s cup!” Molly’s voice rang out in the Great Hall, making everyone stop as the potential storm that was a mother’s wrath could wash upon them. Many of the professors sat there with pleased expressions plastered on their faces while Narcissa took this time to sip from her goblet. Dumbledore looked like he was trying very hard not to laugh at Molly’s break of professionalism. “Oh! Narcissa, I see your boy and Harry. Hi boys! How was Christmas? Did you eat enough Harry?”

Nope. Nope nope nope. Under the table. Draco is with me. I think the Weasleys were also under their respective table. So we spent the entirety of dinner requesting certain foods from our friends and hiding from the embarrassment that was an overbearing mother. 

I would be lying if I didn’t say the attention did feel nice though.

"You know, I think they're embarrassed by us, Narcissa," Molly commented with the giddiest tone to her voice.

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

We the Slytherins and them, the Gryffindors, cautiously entered the DADA classroom and all collectively short-circuited our brains.

The room transformed over Christmas break and the vibe from it was completely different from Lockart or Quirrell’s classroom. Everything made of stone has been spelled to be smoother, cleaner, like it was washed through with the aid of years of gentle river water. On our desks were new books,_ A Compendium of Common Curses and Their Counter-Actions _and _The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts _and a small piece of fudge on top of little napkins. There was also a time-table with what looked like a schedule on it right on top of the books.

The classroom decor had also changed. Gone were the overhanging dragon skeleton and replaced with a few low-maintenance potted plants in the corners. Several rugs with the colors of Hogwarts houses were under the desks in patterned formation and shelves filled to the brim with what I could only consider to be dark magical objects, locked tightly away behind warded cases. Tucked in the corner of the class closest to the DADA professor’s office were multiple dummies the size and shape of full-grown adults, and then ones in the shape of werewolves, a mini-troll, and some other creatures I had no idea what they were supposed to be. And then, Neville tugged on my shoulder and pointed to our right.

There was a shoe cubby with empty labels and a sign that said “Shoes off, please! No shoes on rugs!” With a very large smiley face underneath it. 

We kinda just stand there, taking in the transformed classroom. Narcissa and Molly were nowhere to be seen and we had no idea what to do. I slowly made my way to the cubby, my classmates watching me like hawks watching a rabbit. I take off my shoes and stuff my socks in them because I wanted to give my feet freedom. I slide my shoes into one of the holes and right above it, my name appeared in shiny emerald green cursive on the label.

It was like an ON button was switched because every kid soon began putting their shoes in the cubby. Dean and Ron were testing to see if they could put a single shoe in each cubby, but the second shoe would be promptly spat out and hit them in the face. Girls were giggling as their favorite colors were used for their names- Oh hey, Pansy like purple! The boys were trying to figure out the loopholes and limitations of the cubby. 

I took a step back to get away from the crowd and went to find my typical spot, my feet instinctively curling their toes into the plush rugs. Such little details like that could keep kids entertained for hours.

“Those are examples of wards that can be used in your own home!” We look up at the office door to see Molly standing there, looking positively delighted. She was dressed in a modest robe of warm Autumn colors like reds and tasteful browns. Underneath I could see a knitted sweater that stuck out due to the length of her robe sleeves. “Anti-thievery charms, personality detectors, space-saver charms. Oh, Ron dear, do not try to put your wand in-”

“OW!”

“-There. Well, I tried to warn you!” Molly scolded then went back to her warm smile. “Nar- oh, Professor Malfoy will be joining us shortly. Do sit down and enjoy the fudge. If you’re allergic to nuts or dislike them swap with your classmates or come to me, the lighter ones are nut-free.”

Cue students getting into their usual seats and the swapping of fudge to commence.

Narcissa came out of the office next, regal as always but over her typical clothes were a set of fine, black velvet robes with a satin lining that were tied at her left hip with a silver clasp. Her expression only broke to give a smile in mine and Draco’s direction then returned to a chilling face that expected respect with no questions asked.

I lean back slightly to share a look with Ron. If there was a photo in dictionaries, these two would be under the word “opposite”. 

“Welcome back to Hogwarts,” Narcissa spoke, instantly silencing any and all noise that was coming from us, including our chewing of fudge.

“Go on, eat. We know you can hear us while we talk,” Molly urged us all to continue our snacking. Narcissa continued speaking.

“We have a lot of material to catch up with you, and every other student of Hogwarts on so we will be making changes to how the class is taught. For starters, we will not be having a test based exam at the end of the term.”

An unhappy noise came from Hermione.

“Second, Headmaster Dumbledore has funded replacement books for each student. Both will be used for the remainder of the year while_ The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts_ will be used next year as part of the expected curriculum. What you do with Lockhart’s books are entirely up to you, we will not take away points if you decide to use them as target practice on spell day.”

Neville raised his hand, “Spell day?”

“Yes! Mind if I take over, Narcissa?” Molly jumped into the introduction easily, Narcissa making a “go ahead” motion with her hand before returning it to rest in front of her. “Since this class meets multiple times a week, the final meeting of the week will be dedicated to practicing spells! You will be teamed off in groups to tests harmless defensive and minor spells on each other, while more elaborate spells will be tested on special dummies. The rest of the days will be informative and lecture styled.”

“Neither of us are trained as teachers. However, if students enjoy our style of teaching we will be leaving our notes so that your professor next school year can use these strategies for you. The schedule on top of your books contains the times you can expect to find us in our office. Do come to us with questions.” Narcissa pulled out her wand and flicked it at a piece of chalk, which floated up and started to write on the board and paper began to float to us. “We’ll start with a knowledge test today. Everything will be based on what Professor Weasley and I learned during our second years and what Professor Weasley’s older sons knew as well at this point in the year.”

Pansy raised her hand, “Will this count towards our final grade?” Her voice had a hint of nervousness, many other students vocalized their agreements.

“Why would you want to ask that question, Ms. Parkinson?” Narcissa’s eyes gleamed dangerously. “You will have one hour to complete this fifty question test.”

I took one look at this test and inhaled deeply. I used my regular quill, now that I didn’t need to compete with Lockhart, and worked quickly to answer the questions. But midway through the test, my heart rate began to increase and a build-up of pressure began to well up in my head and the back of my eyes. Somehow, I ended up fidgeting more with the rug under my feet and wiggling constantly in my chair.

I... don’t understand nearly _half _of these questions. I kept skipping questions that made absolutely no sense to me and attempting to answer difficult ones. But minus the questions that were familiar from last year and some questions due to my knowledge of this universe, I finally began to realize just how much Lockhart’s teaching damaged our learning. I didn’t know how to counter a tickling charm, or what were the appropriate wand movements for _Engrogio _\- let alone what it actually does. I know how to stop a centaur from charging at you and how to communicate with them, but Morgana forbid I know how to handle a ghoul. My only saving grace is that at least a third of these questions are multiple-choice or true-false.

It doesn't help that no matter where I looked I couldn't find any study guide in the library unless it was for O.W.L.S. or N.E.W.T. tests. I've been blindly studying all year. We all have been studying without any strategy.

The room’s tension increased as many students seemed to get the same feeling as I. Just from the corner of my eye, for every three I was able to answer purely due to retained knowledge of my past life, Draco could answer two. I think Crabbe and Goyle gave up and are only answering what seemed easy.

I take a moment to stretch my arms and I see Hermione in silent tears as she furiously scribbled her answers down. Based on the fact she only paused once the entire time, she’s missed less than ten questions. I’d rather not see how Neville and Ron are handling the test.

The hour passed and at least half of the class was sniffling or squirming in their seats. Most of us didn’t even finish the test. I had just started number 45 when it was yanked from under my nose. It literally had to be yanked because I was fighting the spell trying to take it away.

Narcissa had half of a stack while Molly had the other half, both women using spelled quills to answer the multiple-choice questions while they went over the written portions. Neither woman looked happy with what they were seeing with Narcissa’s brows knitting together by her third paper and Molly’s right away. They both looked up from what they were doing and waved their wands.

Steaming cups of hot cocoa and plates of freshly baked cookies were summoned on our desks. There were also tissues which I immediately took one for my eyes.

“I had asked the kitchen to prepare these in advance,” Molly explained softly while going back on the test. “Dry your eyes dears. This won’t hurt your grades but this was to teach a valuable lesson.”

“If this was a first-year class, all of you would have passed,” Narcissa took over speaking, having finished her paper faster -I only just now realized she graded Slytherin- and was cleaning the chalkboard with a spell. “But as second years… Lockhart barely taught you anything of importance this year. At most from what I gathered, you know socially how to combat a banshee, and a… yeti, but hardly any of you listed spells that were actually real. If this was your real exam you would have failed.”

“Yes, all of you, except for Ms. Granger, who would pass only because she answered the most questions,” Molly explained, having finished her grading. “Drink your cocoa dear, it’ll make you feel better.”

I hear Hermione hiccup and take a large gulp.

“We will be strict professors, but I hope that by seeing this test you’ll understand why. Your O.W.L.S. will not be adjusted just because you had a lower quality education.” Narcissa frowned. “We also won’t be babying you. These treats were to ease your minds, do not expect them every time in class. A proper study guide for your class will be written out by breakfast tomorrow, your main homework will be to follow the guide and the occasional short essays. The class is dismissed. You may leave when you finish your cocoa and cookies.”

Both mothers stood up and went to the office, leaving the door slightly ajar. Several Gryffindors including Neville and Lavender rushed to the office along with some Slytherin students like Blaise. Students broke into conversations between each other and I shot out of my seat and went to the Gryffindor’s side.

Like a rocket, Hermione shot out of her seat and hurried over to me and I pull her into a tight hug. She presses her face into my shoulder, sobbing about bag grades and Lockhart a mixture of emotional gibberish. I just held her, one arm wrapped around her middle and the other holding the back of her head. 

"So, Potter," Seamus said as he walked towards us. "What's the verdict on these professors?"

"I'm going to sound bias but, they're both going to be fantastic. They're brilliant in their own ways and I know they'll do their hardest to make sure we don't fall behind." I slowly rock my body from side to side in an almost waltz fashion to keep Hermione from breaking down.

"Phew, for a minute there I thought you'd be concerned they'd embarrass you lot the rest of the year."

"... They will. But it's not like anyone here will stop them." 

Seamus didn't respond to that.

Several other students were comforting each other, most trying to reassure each other that they will do fine because we_ actually_ will have competent professors teaching us -and thankfully less Voldemort related stuff- and that we will pass. The class self-dismissed itself and we gathered our shoes once the beverages and snacks were finished and the other students returned. A mutual opinion seemed to form the majority of the class.

Never again would we let a bad professor ruin our ability to learn.

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

** Side story #4 ** **Colin and the Mandrake leaves **

I checked out the Transfiguration book on the day my permission slip allowed, took one look at the steps about Animagi and made a beeline for two things. The first: My invisibility cloak.

The second being the greenhouses, specifically the one where Sprout was cultivating mandrakes. 

Sneaking into the greenhouse was tricky as I didn’t know the silencing spell yet. Though I doubt it would have worked for me and I had to make it look like the wind pushed open the door. Sprout took a look at the door and made the walk over to it, barely missing me by a few inches and closed the door with an off-key hum. It was only then did I realized that she had earmuffs on.

Huh… right, mandrakes kill you by screaming… like an ugly demon toddler that likes dirt.

I snuck around the greenhouse and managed to grab a pair of earmuffs to protect myself. Not even a second later, Spout rips a mandrake out of its pot and examined the screaming creature, it’s pot-mate also screaming. The muffs protected my ears but my mind nearly collapsed at the idea that these mandrakes actually_ moved_ _around_ when they got older.

“All right, you’ve matured, time to make that potion for the poor kid and the cat!” Sprout declared loudly and began to walk away with the mandrake, squirming in her grasp.

With Sprouts back turned, I rushed to the other mandrake and grabbed a pair of cutters I reached out and cut off a couple of the mandrake’s leaves and fiddling with the broken stem to look like the leaves had fallen off. The mandrake’s scream vibrated my entire body so while I couldn’t hear it, I could certainly feel it. 

I ran out of the greenhouse while Sprout still had her back turned. Once I was closer to the castle grounds I took off the muffs and stuffed the leaves in a glass jar with a preservation charm -bless Hermione- to keep them fresh. The school didn’t end until July 1st. Why in the world would I risk having to say that stupid incantation twice a day longer than needed? Besides, if Hermione finds out I have a mandrake leaf in my mouth she’ll lose her mind.

Now, I wonder if Sansa would be willing to make one last order?

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

I sat in a chair by Colin’s bed with a bag next to my feet, watching Pomfrey administer the potion needed to de-petrify him. She tried to tell me that it would be a nasty waking or that Colin might have a bad reaction to waking up after being frozen in time. She gave up trying to kick me out when my butt met the chair and I crossed my arms over my chest.

So instead she gave me the bucket. Literally. I have a metal bucket on my lap.

Colin’s skin began to flush with color and his limbs started to twitch. Slowly, robotically, his arms began to fell to his side and he went still again for a few seconds before shooting up in an upright position, gasping for air.

I get up, one hand firmly holding the bucket and the other reaching over to rub his back. “Hey buddy, welcome back to the world…”

“Har-?” Colin gagged, hunching over and trying to move his face away from me. I promptly shoved the bucket into his face and stoically wait for Colin to heave out whatever he had last eaten before being petrified. It was a rotten smell, composted in his stomach without the aid of acids to break down the material and it collected in the bucket rather than the floor or on Colin himself. 

Pomfrey came over and placed a cup of fizzing liquid that smelled like ginger ale on Colin’s bedside table. I pick it up and hold onto it while rubbing his back until he was done emptying his functioning stomach. “Drink this, it’ll help with your throat.”

Colin downed the drink without a single fuss, “Thanks…” We both cringe at the scratchiness of his voice. “What… happened?”

After putting the bucket far away from us, I retold him everything. The basilisk, Lockhart being sacked, the new professors, everything. Colin clung to each word with wide, shiny eyes only to pale at the very end.

“So… I’m behind on everything?”

“For now,” I agreed with a nod. “But not for long, because I’m going to tutor you on everything you missed out on!”

“Really?!” Colin perked up immediately, “That would be so cool to be taught by you, Harry! What are we going to learn first?”

“The first thing you are going to learn is that you need to rest before we can even begin. Starting with a proper bath and some food.” I reach out and ruffle his hair. “Once you’ve recovered we can begin… oh! Also, here.”

I hand Colin a bag made of simple red paper with white tissue paper inside and the boy looked at it confused. I scooch away, motioning for him to open it. He cautiously took out the tissue paper and he froze, eyes slowly turning glossy.

“Your old camera was destroyed when you took the basilisk’s photo and you missed Christmas too.”

Colin pulled out a simple, black polaroid camera with a red and gold wrist attachment connected to its side. Along with the camera, Colin produced two boxes of film and a photo album; red with golden lions resting in the front corner. The camera was magic, letting the photos move around just like his old camera with the added bonus of him not needing to wait to develop the film to actually see the picture. 

“Harry- I…” He hugs the camera to his chest, tears running down his face. “Thank you, I know I got in the way sometimes. Getting excited about seeing you after hearing about you from books and my house-mates was just… wow. Can the first picture be the two of us?”

“I don’t see why not, I’ll see if Madam Pomfrey would be willing to take it!”

Of course, she was willing, but we had to wait for Filch to collect Mrs. Norris, who purred happily in her crying human’s arms as she was whisked away without a word. Pomfrey held the camera to her face and for just a moment, I thought I saw her eyes reddening. This really was a stressful year for her and I guess seeing the student she saw every morning finally start to move again removed a lot of weight on her shoulders. I throw my arm over Colin’s shoulder and gave him a good ol’ hug.

“Say cheese!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet most of you didn't see that coming. ;) I've always wanted Narcissa and Molly to be the new professors because I think the students need good teachers and some active mother figures in their lives. It was also fun describing the new classroom, as I'd like to think the women would decorate the classroom to be more comfortable for the students; they are children after all and a stiff classroom makes for tough learning.
> 
> Yes, Sirius will be breaking out of Azkaban soon. But he will not actually enter the story until book 3, as he'd want to avoid bringing dementors into Hogwarts after Harry just killed a massive snake.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another year has come to an end.

“Hey, guys, where’s Luna and Ginny?” I asked the Weasley boys one cloudy morning. Luna hasn’t been eating at her house’s table anymore and eats almost exclusively with Ginny and Hermione. But today I saw neither of the girls, and it’s hard to miss them with the disturbingly small blond population in Gryffindor. Actually, most of the blonds reside in Slytherin.

“I think she’s with mum,” Ron answered through a mouthful of porridge. He grimaced at the taste and glared at the offending spoon like it made the food disgusting. “Why are people able to eat this stuff?”

Without a word, I reach past him, grab a spoon, and then plop an ungodly amount of brown sugar into his bowl. Next, I grabbed his toast while stirring in the sugar, plopped a glob of the porridge onto the bread and shoved the bite into Ron’s mouth. I rested my hand on the table, patiently waiting for Ron’s entire face to light up like a thousand Christmas trees.

“That’s really good, thanks mate!” 

“Can’t believe you never tried that…” Rubbing my forehead, I left the Great Hall in search of the girls. I wanted to see how Ginny was holding up. Reaching the DADA office, I stopped at the door.

There were bean bags _ everywhere _ with screens covering certain sections that only left outlines of students. Some sleeping, some being comforted by other silhouettes, and some were just study groups. There was a feeling of peace and tranquillity in the room, even with frazzled fifth and sixth years nearly tearing their hair out over their textbooks. It's hard to believe that only a few months ago, this room was filled with self-portraits and smelled like a thousand flowers. Now it smells like tea and sweets and all things good and homely.

Narcissa was nowhere to be seen, but Molly was in the room and talking to Ginny and Luna.

The trio spots me, so I wave a little and slowly entered the room. “Can I talk to Ginny… alone?”

Ginny’s face sparked a bright red and was given an encouraging nudge by her mum. It didn't take long for Luna to joining in on the shoving. The girl slowly walked towards me and I lead her out of the classroom and had both of us sit down on a bench.

“How have you been doing? You know with your mum being your professor and… the other stuff,” I mumble the last bit, unsure if that was still a sensitive topic for her or not. The last time I talked to Ginny about Tom, I got a lecture from Hermione for making the girl burst into tears.

Ginny hesitated, fiddling with the hem of her robe sleeves, “Mum has been a great teacher. I… didn’t know she knew so much, she’s always busy with my brothers and the housework.” Beneath a veil of ginger hair, I saw a small smile. “I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding talking about… Tom. I just… feel awful about the fact that I was responsible for…”

“Ginny, you are _ not _ responsible for that low-life’s actions. He used you to do evil things,” I say while crossing my arms. “I’m glad I turned him into swiss cheese.”

“Swiss-?” Ginny’s eyebrow rose.

“I stabbed the diary… multiple times… with a basilisk fang.”

“Oh…” She stares at her shoes, trying to avoid eye contact with me.

“Does no one at Hogwarts eat food made outside of the U.K.? Anyway, besides that, how has your year been?”

“It’s been well,” Ginny began to twirl a bit of hair in her fingers. “Luna is a great friend and I’ve been making use of that book you… you got me. I got back at all of her bullies and then some when some Slytherins were trying to give a muggle-born a hard time.”

I vaguely remember Fred and George whining about how Ginny’s taking all of their targets.

“That’s nice,” I commented politely. I started to become interested in my fingernails, wondering if I should invest in a manicure set so I didn't have to go to pick at them anymore.

“Mhm…” Ginny hummed in agreement, crossing one leg over the other with her foot pointed at me.

Things went quiet between the two of us and I had the urge to pace, but I resisted in the case that I would look rude. She would glance at me, and look away and return to her fiddling. My shoulder’s slump -or rather my entire posture- and I looked longingly at the ceiling, wondering why did I have to bring this up now?

“So… Ginny…" I cough and pull at my collar. Finally, I decide to remove my tie and wrap it around my hand because why did today have to be so _warm_?! "I know you have a crush on me-”

“Did one of my brothers snitch?” Ginny glared. It wasn’t directed at me, but seemingly in the direction that she believed one of her older brothers could be standing. 

“No! No no no, your um…” I rubbed the back of my neck, “your body language kind of gave it away, to be honest… and you blush a lot around me. But, look, Ginny. I need to say something and I want you to hear me out on it.”

Ginny tilted her head, slowly nodding while doing so but I could see in her eyes that she was preparing for either one of two things: A confession, or a rejection. And it seems the idea of rejection was stronger.

This was going to be difficult. I already feel like the world's biggest jerk by even attempting to talk to her about this.

“You are a strong, intelligent, and independent girl. Your hair is a pretty shade of red and your face is lovely. In a few years when you’re old enough to date, any guy should feel lucky to call you their significant other… but…”

“You like someone else?” Ginny supplied with a tightness in her voice.

Forget it, I’m ripping off the bandaid.

“You look like my mum with brown eyes.” I forced myself to look at her in the eyes when I said that. If I have to be a man, then I am going to take her pain at the full brunt of it.

“Huh?” The tightness was gone, and her eyes were no longer glossy. Her face was no longer red. She resembled a turtle almost with how far her next was stretched out in my direction.

“I know it sounds weird, but even though I’m 12 and your 11, I already know that I do not want to date someone who resembles my mum. Would you date someone that looks like your dad?”

Ginny makes a face.

“Exactly!" I throw my hands out in her direction. "And I don’t want either of us to change for a shallow reason like that! So… if you’re okay with it, would you prefer it if we just stayed friends?”

“I wouldn’t mind but-” Ginny shook her head to snap her brain back into place. “Why tell me this now?”

“Because it wouldn’t be right to let you live with a crush that could never be fulfilled.” I let out a long sigh. “I don’t want you to get hurt in the future.”

There was a long pause from Ginny. Her eyes scanning me, eyes shifting between hurt and determination to, finally, resolution. “You’re a good person, Harry…”

“Nah… I’m a Slytherin remember? I have to keep up a reputation!”

“What reputation?” Ginny smirked, “You’re the most un-Slytherin I’ve ever met. Dare I say... you're like a _ Hufflepuff _.”

“... Duel me. Now. Go get your mum.” She ran off while I brushed off my robes before removing the cloak-part of the robes and chucked them at the bench. It is way too warm to convince me to keep wearing that black, cottony, mess of broiling heat.

Turns out Ginny is _ really _ good at hexes. It's too bad for her that I’m getting the hand of some of my charms' quirks. I now have bats coming out of my nose while Ginny is covered in seawater and kelp. Overall, a fair trade.

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

Narcissa and Molly are miracle workers.

The rest of the school year came by faster than anyone could have anticipated and yet those two did more to teach us in that short amount of time than whatever Quirrell and Lockhart taught us combined. The library was used less and less as time went on, replacing the stiff chairs for bean bags in the DADA teacher's office. Silent studying became target practice on dummies, book readings became group discussions, and essays about award-winning smiles became detailed diagrams of the dangers of magical creatures. Narcissa and Molly never took away points, instead rewarding house points for extra work, and detentions resulted in formal tea parties and knitting lessons. It's still to hot for us to have scarves, Molly!

Within the class, I finally found a means to focus.

“_ Protego Maxima! _ ” I shouted, casting the _ charm _ perfectly and deflecting Draco’s stunning jinx during our final lesson of the school year in DADA. Instead of an end of term exam, the professors wanted us to present our growth by casting one spell we were most proud to learn in this class and then explaining why. 

Draco nearly dropped his wand in shock. Hermione actually dropped her wand in shock. Everyone else remained painfully still as I bounced up and down excitedly. My ponytail, now that my hair is at my desired length, smacked against my back and shoulders aggressively.

“I casted a charm correctly!” I cried out, shoving my wand under my armpit to clap my hands while I kept jumping. “It didn’t rebound, or do a weird shape, or make me look at an oil-spill of rainbow colors-”

“That was because you ate one too many fruit tarts, Harry,” Draco tried to remind me. He was rightfully ignored.

“It came out just right!”

Narcissa smiled and lightly clapped her hands. “Well done, Mr. Potter. You may stay if you wish to assist your classmates in their exams or you may leave the classroom.”

Of course, I stayed, being the person to accept the brunt of Ron’s _ expelliarmus _ . Every one had a spell they wanted to share and talk about their achievements. Dean even recreated my... ahem... bear incident and Seamus casted a _lumos_ without it exploding in his face.

Overall, I can confidently say that everyone passed this exam.

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

Why is everyone so tense?

I take a long, obnoxiously loud, slurping sip of my tea while my eyes shifting between all of my friends. Pansy made a fuss about the noise but was quickly shushed by Draco and Blaise. Nearly everyone was nose deep in the _ Daily Prophet _ or stealing their friends’ papers and reading it themselves. I’m just waiting for Blaise to let us read his stupid copy.

“Here, mate, check this out.” Blaise hands me the _ Daily Prophet _ and I read the headline.

** ESCAPE FROM AZKABAN **

_ Sirius Black (age 32) has escaped from Azkaban and is currently at large, his whereabouts are unknown. _

The rest of the article was describing why Sirius was dangerous, how the ministry is doing everything in their power to find him, and if sighted to not engage and to immediately contact the Aurors. Fairly standard if compared to muggle news reports. I'm surprised that they only used his mug-shot from Azkaban, and not include a photo of what he looked like before arrest just in case he finds a proper shower and razor to shave.

‘About time, Sirius. I sent that letter to you in December. How does it take someone six months to think “wait, I can turn into a dog! Can the dementors notice me?”... Oh well, you’re free now.’ I had to keep my face hidden behind the newspaper to hide the painfully wide grin on my face. Sirius is free. If I can time things right I can actually meet him! I just need to make a scenario where I’m able to be alone...

“Oh! This is one of my dad’s friends!” I say with a too happy of a tone in my voice just as Draco was about to swallow some toast. I reach over to pat his back as he contemplates choking or not. 

“Harry darling, even if that is the case, the man is a murderer! He’s dangerous!” Pansy protests, looking over Draco at me. “So don’t get any ideas.”

“Come on, I’m sure if I just talk to him-”

“No,” Blaise said sharply.

“I mean, I’m sure there’s an explan-”

“No!” Pansy exclaimed, slamming her hands on the table.

“Really guys? Hermione, please reason with the-”

“_ NO _!” Hermione and Draco shouted at the same time. Wait, when did Hermione start to walk over here?

“Did everyone here forget that I kicked a basilisk’s eye in?” I ask, resting my chin over my fist.

“If we had known you were going to do that, we would have stopped you!” Hermione said in an exasperated tone. “I’m still upset that Luna and Ginny let you do something so reckless and stupid as that.”

“In my defence, the basilisk would have kept petrifying students had I not do anything- why am I arguing about this? We already know that I’m just going to do what I want!”

“That may be but… oh! I just remember why I came over here!” Hermione slammed her fist into her palm like she had an idea. “Ron wanted me to tell you that Professor Weasley-”

“Mrs. Weasley,” I corrected automatically.

“- Wanted you to know that shortly after your birthday, someone will be bringing you to their home for the rest of the summer. I guess Draco and Ron’s mum have an agreement to swap you every summer.” She finished with a shrug, taking a strawberry from my plate to enjoy it.

I nod in a bouncy rhythm. “That sounds like it’ll be fun. Fred and George wanted me to help them develop new pranking products.” I look past Hermione to give the Weasley clan a wave. The twins returned the wave in earnest while Percy looked like he wanted to die from the very idea of all three of us in the same house together. Ron was preoccupied with some bacon.

Ginny was the smartest of the bunch, she was gone before I could wave to her.

The rest of the day seemed to run smoothly, minus the constant chatter about Sirius and several students fearing to go home. I, on the other hand, was in Potions class contemplating the usefulness of a six-foot-long peacock quill. Sure, it’s a nice novelty, but what am I going to use it for now? I _ like _ the next couple of professors, provided Dumbledore still hires the same people. I know in some way Umbridge would do whatever she can to destroy it. Maybe I’ll keep it locked up in a case in my bedroom?

“Mr. Potter,” Snape's voice bounced off the silent classroom, causing many heads to look at me. “See me after class if you would. You are not… in trouble.” The professor sent sharp glares around the room as a few students were about to do that weird “ooooh, you’re in trouble~” taunt children like to do.

“Yes sir,” I mumble then go back to contemplating the logistics of using such a massive quill in Umbridge’s class. Maybe if I learn a spell that makes it indestructible...

At the end of class, I waited for everyone to leave before approaching Snape. I stood in front of his desk, hands behind my back innocently as I waited for whatever he wished to speak about. 

“About the basilisk…” Snape started.

“I am not apologizing for casting a spell on you but I will apologize for my outburst while running. The words left my mouth before I could think.”

“Outburst-? I’m not talking about that, boy! I’ve come to learn that you will say things without thinking based on how you declared your love to every person that came to visit you.” Snape got up and went over to his cabinet of personal potion supplies while I wanted to become a turtle and hide from everything. He pulls out a vial and box that looked like a glasses case and approaches me, holding up the vial. It was filled with a soft lavender-colored liquid that sparkled like a light was always shining through it. “Do you know what this is, Mr. Potter?”

“Um… a potion, sir?” I squeaked out, wishing the cold dungeon would stop my face from feeling so warm.

“How observant. This is an antidote for basilisk venom. One part basilisk venom to three parts phoenix tears. Merely a drop of this on the infected spot is needed but the measurements must be… exact, otherwise the consequences can be rather ugly.” Snape slowly turn the vial in his hand, letting the liquid submit to gravity each time.

I don’t think I want to know how he figured that out. Last I checked, Trevor is still alive and so is Scabbers.

“While basilisks are undeniably rare, this will be released to the Aurors in the case that someone decides to go breeding them.” Snape pauses and looks me in the eyes, after a moment he pockets the antidote and holds out the box. “Open it.”

Hesitantly, I open the box and my jaw drops. Inside was the small basilisk fang, encased in a crystal coating. At the root of the fang, an incredibly long silver cable chain was connected to a clasp on the crystal and upon closer inspection, I spotted a fine seam around the crystals. Obviously designed to where I _ could _ open the case, but also designed to look like I just have some fancy jewelry.

“The other professors assisted in making this,” Snape said as he picked up the chain, letting the fang dangle in the air. “You have the permission of myself and the Headmaster to wear this on your person for _ protection only _. However, should you open the casing…”

Snape demonstrated how to open the case, simply twisting the clasp opened the case and he produced the fang. He held it delicately, making sure the pointy end was pointed away from the both of us. After he was sure I understood how it worked, he returned the fang to its casing and handed the entire thing to me.

“Should you open the casing I will be alerted immediately. I will not know your exact location, but I will know that you opened it and I will send someone who does know your location. Do not waste my time by opening it out of boredom or I will have it taken away. This is for your protection only. Do I make myself clear, Mr. Potter?”

“... Crystal.” I smirk a little and look at the chain, pulling out my wand. I transfigured the end of the chain without the fang into a large circle, large enough to get the fang through and then shrink it to where it is now too small for the fang to slip through. I slip on the chain, adjusting it to where the circle rested just at the top of my breast bone and the fang dangled perpendicular to my waist. I pause, looking at the circle and my mind thought for a moment.

Snape seemed to understand why I was staring at my chest and pulled out his wand, giving it a wave and the circle glowed for a moment before returning to its shiny silver. “I casted a charm that makes it so only you can adjust the chain. The last thing I need to hear is that you were choking because you decided to use this as a necklace…”

“What else am I supposed to use this for then?” I asked confused. This thing is going to look gaudy no matter where I put it on my body, so I might as well wear it where I can see it.

“A _ belt _ , Mr. Potter. Something you can _ hide _ under your _ clothes _.” Snape hissed out words like he was spewing out the most obvious thing in his life. "The fang can be stored in your pocket."

“Sir, that is just silly. I’m more likely to puncture a hole on my butt or my leg if I did that. I don’t take off my jewelry unless I need to clean them.” As if to prove my point, I hiked up my trouser leg to present my anklet. Snape let out an uncharacteristic sigh and made a sharp point at the door. “Thank you for the necklace, professor!” I made my walk to the door when Snape spoke up again.

“Mr. Potter.”

“Sir?” I look over my shoulder.

“Do not seek out Black. Know your friends are not in danger of him…” Snape pauses, “So there is no need to find him. He’s dangerous. If you must approach him…”

“Got it! Stick him with the pointy end of the fang, easy!” I closed his door with as much enthusiasm as I could fake then made my walk to the library. None of my friends were around, but I took this time to research preservation charms and sticking charms, the mandrake leaf in my bag weighing on my mind. I couldn’t help but let out a quiet chuckle as I closed the current book in my hand. “Stab Sirius with the basilisk fang? _ Please _.”

….. :3….. :3….. :3…..

“Hey, Hermione?” I looked at the girl. We were on the Hogwarts express to go home, or “home” in my case, and I finally took the opportunity to sit with the Gryffindors. I reached into my bag and pulled out the vial with the mandrake leaf. “Can you help me put a sticking charm and some freshening charms on this? I want it to last the summer.”

“What is that?” Hermione asked, eyebrows furrowed in suspicion.

“A mandrake leaf. I read a book that says it’s packed with nutrients and I wanted to test that over the summer.” I mean, that was something I read about in a herbology book.

“Where did you get this?” Hermione’s voice increased in volume when I was suddenly entranced by the clouds outside. “Did you steal this from the greenhouse?!”

“In my defence, Professor Sprout was going to throw the leaves away.”

“Harry!”

“Lighten up, Hermione,” Ron complained, rubbing his ear. “We all know Harry’s relatives are awful. Do you want to see him turn into a twig-like how he was our first year?”

“But he- oh! Give me that!” Hermione snatched the vial from my hand. “You owe me for breaking the rules for you.”

“Love you too~!” I sang out to her with large goo-goo eyes which made Ron give me weird looks. Hermione casts the two charms with a sour look on her face.

“Luckily for you, _ I _ read ahead for charms so I can cast these spells.” She held the vial of leaves in her hand, examining the leaves closely.

I start to reach for the vial. “You’re a lifesaver- Uh… what are you doing? Hermione?”

Hermione said a spell that I never heard before on the mandrake leaf then giving the entire thing back to me with a grin that could put Draco to shame. “Since I know you’ll never face punishment from the teachers for stealing, I took matters into my own hands.”

“Did you make it taste like asparagus or something?” Ron asked with a chuckle.

“No. Vinegar.”

Cue all of us, myself included, gagging. My whole body violently shivered at the idea that I’m going to taste vinegar for an entire month, _ UGH _ I can just imagine the taste. And if I eat something flavorful at the Dursleys- Nope! Out of my head! No need to overthink about that!

"Rude..." I mutter out, putting the vial in my bag. Ron and Neville gave me sympathetic chuckles but said nothing to Hermione. I thought you two were supposed to be from the house of the brave... cowards.

We returned to relaxing and I found myself taking a short nap, lulled by the rhythm of the train speeding down the tracks. Hermione woke me up after about half an hour if I were to guess based on everyone else eating lunch. “Harry, we need to talk.”

“Uh… why- Gah! That’s my tie!” I yelped as my tie was yanked and I was pulled out of the compartment, much to the amusement of our friends. Hermione walked us to the dining cart, where some older students were chatting away and casted the N_ otice Me Not _ spell so no one would pay us any mind. “Can I help you?”

“Tell me the truth. Why do you have that leaf?” Hermione folded her arms over her chest, staring me down. 

“I uh… wanted to try a new potion?”

An eyebrow raised up and I feel sweat beginning to form.

“Test its properties on Scabbers?”

And then there’s the head tilt. My head bowed in defeat.

“I’m beginning the process to become an animagus…”

“HARRY!” Hermione shouted, making me flinch thinking people would look at us. Nope. No one paid any mind to her voice. “That’s extremely advanced, extremely _ dangerous _ magic! If you make a mistake you’ll… you’ll get hurt! What are you thinking?! Why would you do something so reckless!”

“Do you really want the truth or would me saying I want to turn into an animal anytime I want suffice?" I question with my arms crossed, leaning towards her.

"The whole truth, or else I'm going to send a letter to Professor McGonagall." Hermione threatened, mimicking my posture.

"I’m afraid, Hermione, that’s why!” I hissed back. “Voldemort- please stop screaming, it’s just a name, was on Quirrell’s head our first-year, and then he possesses students this year to bring out a basilisk! What will he do next year? Fourth-year? Fifth?! What if one of these years he comes back?! Do you not realize how many times our lives have been put in danger all because of a man that is supposed to be dead? Because let me tell you this, Hermione, he's not dead and I doubt he's going to stay out of our lives for long.”

“Animagus is a lengthy and dangerous process. You won’t even know what you’ll be until after you finish the spell. Why don’t you try it when you’re older?” She questioned with another tilt of her head. Honestly, this girl...

“Because I don’t have the luxury of time when the unknown is obviously going to happen." I unfold one of my arms so I could fling my hand around as I talk. "As far as I’m concerned, this is the only time I’ll be able to get my hands on mandrake leaves. If Sirius Black is on the loose I’ll need an animal I can either turn into to hide or to fight.” I turn away to look out the window. “So forgive me if I’m being reckless, but as far as I’m concerned I’m going to protect myself and you guys my way.”

Hermione's shoulders slump, her arms falling to her side. “Harry…”

“I’ll register myself as an animagus if we go without danger for three years. McGonagall gave me permission to read up on how to do the spell and I’ve gathered most of the material I’ll need... Please, Hermione. All I ask is for you to trust me on this.” I reach out and take her hand. “I know what I’m doing, even if it seems like I don't know. I do. If I feel I’m over my head with this spell I’ll stop immediately. There’s no consequence of not drinking the final potion. I just... I want to have some way to protect you guys without having to rely on a wand that could break just by me sitting on it.”

Hermione doesn’t say anything for what felt like an eternity, looking at me than my hand holding hers. She gives my hand a gentle squeeze. “I want to be there when you drink the potion…" That's more than I could have ever asked for in a compromise. "Why don’t you tell Draco?”

“... Because his father works in the ministry.” That’s all I really needed to say, but it’s honestly more than just that.

It truly is because of Lucius; without him, I would have told Draco months ago. Lucius is going to join Voldemort when he comes back, he would be stupid not to considering that man would kill his entire family without thought. None of the Malfoys are skilled in Occlumency and if they knew I was an animagus and they didn’t tell Voldemort? I can’t trust Draco or his mind… not yet. He’ll just have to learn the same time as Voldemort does and I can only pray that my form is something that can kill Voldy without much of a fight.

"Watch me become something stupid... like a bug," I grumbled, realizing that I am at the mercy of the entire animal kingdom. "Oh Merlin what if I'm a jellyfish?!"

"Then it would serve you right for going behind our backs all the time and getting in trouble." Hermione huffed, resting a hand on her hip. "But I'd sooner expect to see you turn into a snake or a fox. Come on, let's go back to our friends."

When Hermione and I returned we all changed into our muggle clothing. I was rather happy with my black polo, tan cargo shorts, and my typical trainers. I made a note that I would need to do some clothes shopping soon, the trainers were getting a little snug. 

“What classes is everyone taking?” Neville asked us finally, happily sporting a blue t-shirt and jeans. “I’m taking Care of Magical Creatures and Divination.”

“Same, Divination seems like an easy class,” Ron replied, seemingly pleased with the fact that he'll have an easy class next here. Heh… easy… that’s a funny way to describe that class. 

“Oh… I have a few subjects I’m taking…” Hermione hummed to herself, eyes landing on me, “What are you taking, Harry?”

“Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies,” I answer with a smirk. Draco nearly snorted in his pumpkin juice when I had told him earlier, and it was funny watching the Slytherins questioning why I would want to take that subject of all things.

“But you live with muggles!” Ron exclaimed. Wow, that is _ exactly _ what Draco told me! “Plus you’re smart, why aren’t you taking Ancient Runes or something… I dunno, difficult?”

“Because I… don’t like… math?” I answered with a raised eyebrow. “Arithmancy doesn’t appeal to me for its mathematics, Divination is just… no, and if I want to learn about Ancient Runes I’ll study them. I’d rather learn spoken dialect or a dead muggle language like Old Norse or a language from a Native American tribe.”

“That sounds fascinating! Maybe I can ask my parents if they will help me find books about those languages, we can study them.” Hermione happily decided for both of us.

“Harry, _ please _ stop giving her ideas, she’ll drag me into it,” Ron groaned into his hands. “Studying magical subjects is hard enough without other things being thrown in.”

We all laugh, even Ron despite his eyes pleading with me to exclude him from whatever study sessions Hermione and I dive our noses into. It was fun watching him squirm the more details Hermione and I went into considering languages. Personally, I'd love to refresh on my Japanese as the langauge has all but left my mind and my tongue from 12 years of not using it.

I departed from my friends earlier than last year, mostly because my family was waiting outside of the platform -impatiently I might add- and were quick to make me leave before any of my friends' parents could arrive. 

“The sooner we get away from those _ freaks _ the better…” Vernon grumbled, staring me down like I was dog turd stuck to his shoes. “You look like a punk.”

You’re not gonna win Miss. Great Britain anytime soon either. “Are you going to stop me though?” I challenged, daring him to lose his temper in public while beside me. Sansa screeched in her cage like it was a clear warning. Unlike in the books and movies, the Dursleys still do not know I’m not allowed to do magic and I am going to keep it that way. Vernon grumbled while he went into the car, leaving me to put all of my stuff in the trunk except for Sansa, who was more than happy to just fly back with Scabbers’ cage.

“Aunt Petunia?” I spoke to her, my voice dropping its malice even with Dudley trying to be as far away from me in the car as possible.

“What is it?” She snapped. Okay, wow, no need to get hostile.

“Sometime later in the summer, when you’re free, could you take me somewhere to buy new clothes please?” I might as well try my luck now.

Petunia’s face pinched up something nasty. “I am not buying you any new clothes. I already have to buy my Dudders his new summer clothes.” She gave her son a loving look and a happy sigh. "He's becoming such a big boy, and I want my Dudders to be comfortable in what he wears."

I blinked, to tell them about my money or not… I’ll lie. “Mrs. Malfoy was one of our professors this year and she said that she was going to give me money for new clothes. I guess Draco complained about seeing my ankles on some of my trousers.” The lie came out smoothly, mostly because I could legitimately picture this happening one of these years if I wasn’t careful. I already have a new set of dress robes that I really do not need. Petunia didn't answer me, so I don't count that as a "no." 

The drive back to the Dursleys was tense and I couldn’t figure out why. Was it because of my appearance? My attitude? Why did Vernon look in every direction every time we reached a traffic light.

“Did… something happen while I was gone?”

“Some fellow named Black broke out of prison and is on the loose. Has a gun the reports say.” Vernon grumbled in a “why am I telling you this?” tone. “I don’t want some maniac coming this way.”

“Black… Ohhh! Sirius Black! I know exactly who you’re talking about,” I say with false innocence, “He’s all over ‘my kind’s’ papers. He’s the first person to break out of Azkaban since its creation.”

Petunia tensed, Vernon’s tone raised. “What is this Askabun?”

“Az-Ka-BAN, Uncle Vernon. It’s a wizard prison.” I quickly threw my hands forward so my face didn’t slam into the front passenger seat. I kinda deserved that, but I think Vernon nearly gave the old lady in the car in front of us a heart attack.

“HE’S ONE OF YOUR KIND?!” Vernon yells directly in my face, spit flying everywhere and- ew, one lands on my glasses.

I lean away and begin to clean my glasses using my shirt. “He’s a wizard, yes. As far as I know, he doesn’t have a wand,” I raise my hand up when I felt the question starting to boil out of his fat mouth. “Wizards need wands to use most magic and I doubt he has a gun. My Headmaster has also given students…”

I hold my glasses up to check for splotches. Still dirty. Resume cleaning until spit free.

“Instructions on what to do if we see Sirius Black. You three are perfectly safe since he'll be more interested in targeting the people that arrested him.” Most of that was either lies or stuff I have no guarantee on. As far as I know, Sirius doesn’t have a wand and I have no idea how gun laws work in the UK, but I know for a fact that I am correct on the safety part. 

“Can’t believe this. Of all the time to have _ magic _ in the family, a murderous lunatic breaks out of a prison with said _ magic _.” Vernon continued this concerningly long rant the rest of the car ride and I was quick to gather my things and rush to my room before anyone would have the guts to lock my stuff away.

Sansa was on her perch, preening herself but also slightly miffed at the dust gathered in my room. I made a note to clean the mess but I pull out a paper. “Wanna do a quick delivery tomorrow for me while I clean?”

I got an approved screech.

“Good, we have a _ lot _ of work ahead of us and I’ll need your help.” I prepare to order to Gringotts, signing my name in blood just in the off-chance they get picky about my identity and set it aside for later. Right now, I am going to air out my comforter and take a nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, wow, I did not realize I only had 13 chapters written for book 2. Granted I have been working on book 3 and school has resulted in my mind forgetting details like this. But in any case, book 2 is done!
> 
> Just like with book 2, I am not going to post book 3 until I am almost completely done with it because I want to make sure I don't suddenly run out of material if life gets in my way. The progress in writing is going smoothly and I will be finishing community college in a few weeks, so I will have more free time (until I get a job) to finish up the book.
> 
> Thank you lovely folks for sticking around for my silly story and I thank you in advance for your patience. This kind of work takes time to prepare and a whole lot of planning. Luckily, I have 23 google doc pages of pre-written scenes for future events waiting for me to use them so it shouldn't take nearly as much time.
> 
> Also, I am considering (if time permits) re-editing and posting my very first fanfiction from fanfiction.net and posting it on AO3, mostly so I can fix some things about it that left me unhappy. So if you are following me and you randomly get a notification saying I posted a story, that's what it is. I am not going to priorities another story over this one so don't worry. :)

**Author's Note:**

> I will be uploading weekly since the second book is nearly complete besides the final chapter. While this is being posted I will also be working on year three so that I can (hopefully) have that ready to go when this is done.


End file.
